The    Sa'-Zada    Tales 


SA'-ZADA  HAD  GATHERED  ALL  HIS  COMRADES 

OF  THE  BIRD  TALK      . 

(SEE  PAGE  iig.) 


.     FOR  THE  EVENING 


THE 

SA'-ZADA  TALES 

By  W.   A.  ERASER 

Illustrated  by  ARTHUR  HEMING 


D  AVI  D     N  U  TT 

57-59     LONG    ACRE,     LONDON 
MDCCCCV 


Copyright  for  the  United  States  of  America,  igoj 
BY     CHARLES     SCRIBNER'S     SONS 


PRINTED  BY  J.  F.  TAPLEY  Co. 
NEW  YORK,  U.  S.  A. 


Contents 


PAGE 

INTRODUCTION ix 

THE     WHITE,     YELLOW,     AND     BLACK 

LEOPARD      3 

HATHI  GANESH,  THE  WHITE-EARED  ELE 
PHANT     39 

GIDAR,  THE  JACKAL,  AND  COYOTE,  THE 

PRAIRIE  WOLF 51 

RAJ  BHEH,  THE  KING  TIGER     ....  65 

THE  TRIBE  OF  KING  COBRA 87 

THE  STORY  OF  THE  MONKEYS     .     .     .     .  103 

STORY  OF  BIRDS  OF  A  FEATHER     .     .     .     .  119 

THE  BUFFALO  AND  BISON 139 

UNT,  THE  CAMEL 155 

BIG  TUSK,  THE  WILD  BOAR 173 

OOHOO,  THE  WOLF,  AND  SHER  ABI,  THE 

CROCODILE 189 

SA'-ZADA.  THE  "Zoo"  KEEPER  211 


Illustrations 

From  Drawings  by  Arthur  Heming 


PAGE 

Sa'-Zada   had  gathered  all  his  comrades      ...      for 

the  evening  of  the  bird  talk Frontispiece 

"The  thing  that  had  me  by  the  paw  was  of  a  fiendish 

kind" 19 

"And  away  we  dashed" 32 

"Then  something  strong  grabbed  me  by  the  hind  leg, 

and  pulled  me  ..." 42 

"Two  ruffianly  Bulls  .  .  .  fought  me  while  the 

men  slipped  great,  strong  ropes  over  my  legs"  .  .  46 
"I  heard  my  man  say  .  .  .  'Strike  me  dead,  if  he 

hasn't  .  .  .'  " 6l 

"But  I  could  see  that  there  was  something  very 

wrong  ..." 70 

"My  sire  .  .  .  sprang  on  a  big  Hathi's  nose"  .  82 
"And  Baba  used  to  come  every  day  under  the  bungalow 

to  play " 90 

"I  would  stretch  my  body  across  it  much  after  that 

fashion"  .  08 


viii  ILLUSTRATIONS 


PAGE 


"And  they  all  clambered  on  to  my  back"  .  .  .  .  i  I  I 
"And  sitting  beside  her,  cried  also,  being  but  a  little 

chap  and  all  alone  in  the  jungle" 112 

"And  as  he  coughed,  soap  bubbles  floated  upward"  .  122 

"  Leaving  just  a  place  for  her  sharp  beak"  .  .  .  .  125 
"Something  I  could  not  see  struck  me  most  viciously  in 

the  shoulder" 146 

"Suddenly  I  heard  a  'swisp'  in  the  air,  and  my  little 

curly-haired  pet  ..." 150 

"I  remained  in  the  jhil  until  my  master  had  lost  the 

fierce  Kill-look" 161 

"But  some  way  I  felt  like  doing  my  best"  .  .  .  166 
"It  was  at  this  time  that  Bagh  killed  so  many  of  my 

people " 182 

"  'Into  the  horse's  legs,'  the  old  Dame  had  said"  .  .  184 

"One  could  travel  for  days  over  the  white  snow"  .  .  190 

"  '  Let  me  in,  Tom,  I  am  Jack,'  pleaded  the  Hunt  man  "  202 
"The  grizzly  .  .  .  bounced  out  not  ten  yards 

from  the  Cayuse" 220 

"  Bhalu  .  .  .  pitched  into  the  other  two"  .  .  230 


Introduction 

All  his  life  Sa'-zada  the  Keeper  had  lived  with 
animals.  That  was  why  he  could  talk  to  them,  and 
they  to  him;  that  was  why  he  knew  that  something 
must  be  done  to  keep  his  animal  friends  from  fret 
ting  themselves  to  death  during  the  dreadful  heat 
that  came  like  a  disease  over  their  part  of  the 
Greater  City. 

In  the  Greater  City  itself  the  sun  smote  with  a 
fierceness  that  was  like  the  anger  of  evil  gods.  The 
air  vibrated  with  palpitating  white  heat,  and  the 
shadows  were  as  the  blue  flame  of  a  forge.  Men 
and  women  stole  from  ovened  streets,  wide- 
mouthed,  to  places  where  trees  swayed  and  waters 
babbled  feebly  of  a  cooler  rest;  even  the  children 
were  sent  away  that  they  might  not  die  of  fevered 
blood. 

But  in  the  Animal  City  there  was  no  escape. 
The  Dwellers  from  distant  deep  jungles  and  tall 


forests  had  only  blistering  iron  bars  between  them 
and  the  sirocco  that  swept  from  the  brick  walls  of 
the  Greater  City. 

It  was  because  of  this  that  Sa'-zada  said,  "I 
must  make  them  talk  of  their  other  life,  lest  they 
die  of  this." 

In  the  Greater  City  men  thought  only  of  them 
selves;  but  with  Sa'-zada  it  was  different.  The 
animals  were  his  children — his  friends;  so  he  had 
contrived  that  all  of  the  Peace-kind — the  Grass- 
feeders  and  others — should  come  from  their  cages 
and  corrals  and  meet  each  evening  in  front  of  the 
iron-bound  homes  which  contained  those  of  the 
Blood-kind,  to  tell  stories  of  their  past  life. 

Sa'-zada  had  asked  Hathi,  the  one-tusked  Ele 
phant,  who  had  been  Ganesh  in  Hindustan,  about 
it.  In  Hathi' s  opinion  those  who  had  seen  the  least, 
and  were  of  little  interest,  would  do  all  the  talking 
— that  was  his  experience  of  jungle  life;  so  the 
Keeper  had  wisely  arranged  that  each  evening 
some  one  animal,  or  group,  should  tell  the  tale. 


THE  DWELLERS  IN  ANIMAL  TOWN,  IN 
THE  GREATER  CITY 

SAHIB  ZADA,    Keeper  of  the   Animals  in  the   Zoo 

ARNA,    the    Wild  India  Buffalo. 

ADJUTANT,    the   Scavenger  Bird. 

BHAINSA,    the    Tame   India  Buffalo. 

BAGHNI,   the    Tigress. 

BAGHEELA,    Toung   Panther  or    Tiger. 

BHALU,   the  Bear. 

COYOTE,    the   Prairie    Wolf. 

CARIBOU. 

CHINKARA,    Gazelle. 

GIDAR,   the   Jackal. 

GURU,   the   India  Bison. 

HANUMAN,   a    Tree-dwelling   Monkey. 

HOOLUK,    the  Black    Monkey. 

HORNBILL,   Bird  like  the    Toucan. 

HATHI,   the  Elephant. 

HANSOR,    (the  Laugher)    Hyena. 

HAMADRYAD,   the  King    Cobra. 

KAUWA,    the    Crow. 


xii  THE  DWELLERS  IN  ANIMAL  TOWN 

MOOSWA,   the   Moose. 

MAGH,   the   Ourang-Outang. 

MOR,   the  Peacock. 

MUSK  Ox. 

NEWAL,   the   Mongoos. 

PARDUS,   the   Panther. 

RAJ  BAGH,   the    Tiger. 

SAFED  CHITA,   the   White   Chita,   or   White  Leopard. 

SOOR,   the   Wild  Boar. 

SAMBHUR,   A  Deer. 

SHER  ABI,   the   Crocodile. 

UNT,   the   Camel. 

WAPOOS,   the  Hare. 

ZARD  CHITA,   the    Yellow   Leopard. 


First  Night 


The   Stories   of  White,  Yellow,  and 
Black    Leopard 


The  Sa'-zada  Tales 


FIRST  NIGHT 

THE    STORIES    OF    WHITE,    YELLOW,    AND    BLACK 
LEOPARD 

THROUGH  the  listless  leaves  of  the  oaks  and 
elms  the  moon  was  spraying  silver  over 
the  hot  earth  when  Sa'-zada,  throwing  down  bars 
and  unlocking  gates,  passed  the  words  to  his  friends 
to  gather  at  Leopard's  cage. 

As  he  slipped  the  chain  from  Hathi's  foot,  and 
it  fell  with  a  soft  clink  on  the  hay  bed,  he  said, 
"Ganesh,  you  of  the  one  tusk,  keep  thou  the  Jungle 
Dwellers  in  order,  for  if  one  may  judge  from  the 
manners  of  one's  own  kind,  who  are  men,  this 
weather  is  a  breeder  of  evil  tempers." 

"Urnph,  umph!"  grunted  Hathi  complacently. 
"I  who  have  seen  fifty  such  times  of  discomfort 
think  little  of  it.  Surely  the  Sahib-kind,  who  are 
also  long  dwellers,  can  remember  that  there  comes 
another  season  of  cool.  But,  as  you  say,  Master, 
perhaps  it  were  well  if  I  take  into  my  trunk  a 
cooler  of  water  for  such  as  may  fret  themselves 
into  a  fever." 

3 


4  THE  SA'-ZADA  TALES 

Even  as  Hathi  spoke  an  angry  roar  shook  the 
building  they  were  in. 

"Hear  that,  Patient  One,"  cried  Sa'-zada;  "Par- 
dus,  the  Black  Panther,  who  is  at  best  a  mighty 
cross  chap,  is  in  an  evil  way." 

The  cry  of  Black  Panther,  which  was  like  the 
falling  of  many  cataracts,  was  causing  the  dead 
night  air  to  tremble.  "Hough-hough;  a-hough ! 
Huzo-or,  Wah-hough!" 

"There,  make  haste,  Little  One !"  said  the 
Keeper  to  Elephant.  "The  sight  of  our  friends 
who  are  gathering  at  his  cage,  has  put  Pardus  in  a 
temper,  I  fear." 

In  front  of  the  Leopard's  house  all  the  outside 
animals  of  the  Park  had  assembled:  Arna,  the 
India  Buffalo;  Sher  Abi,  the  Crocodile;  Gidar,  the 
Jackal,  and  many  others;  even  Magh,  the  Ourang- 
Outang,  was  there  with  a  Fox  Terrier  who  lived 
in  her  cage. 

"Friends,"  began  Sa'-zada,  "if  we  are  all  to  live 
here  together  in  this  Park,  it  were  well  that  we 
know  of  each  other's  ways." 

"That's  a  good  idea,"  declared  Sher  Abi;  "for 
in  my  time  I  have  known  little  of  the  habits  of 
other  animals.  A  dog,  for  instance,  will  come 
down  to  the  water  to  drink " 

"I  know,"  interrupted  Gidar;  "and  not  having 
the  wisdom  of  a  Jungle  Dweller  like  me,  he  will 
come  to  drink  and  stop  to  sup  with  one  of  your 
kind.  Is  that  not  so,  Sher  Abi  ?" 


THE  BLACK  LEOPARD  5 

"Perhaps,  perhaps,"  sighed  the  Magar;  "and 
at  home  the  Pups,  having  lost  a  parent,  fall  into 
the  clutches  of  Gidar  the  Jackal." 

"I  like  this  meeting,"  broke  in  Magh;  "a  gath 
ering  of  thieves,  and  cannibals,  and  murderers — 
Eaters  of  Dogs — 

"And  Apes,"  came  like  a  soft  summer  sigh  from 
the  bellows-mouth  of  the  Crocodile. 

"Friends,"  interrupted  the  Keeper,  "do  not  fall 
to  quarreling.  Let  us  decide  who  is  to  tell  the  first 
tale.  As  we  are  at  Leopard's  cage,  perhaps  he 
should  have  the  first  chance." 

"I'm  agreed,"  declared  Magh;  "murder  stories 
are  always  interesting." 

"I  am  sure  everybody  would  be  glad  to  hear 
of  your  killing,  Magh,"  sneered  Pardus. 

"Well,"  continued  Sa'-zada,  "here  are  three 
Leopards:  Pard,  the  Black  Leopard;  Rufous,  the 
Yellow  Leopard,  and  White  Leopard.  We'll  have 
their  stories  for  this  evening." 

"I'm  no  Leopard,"  objected  Pardus,  ceasing  his 
restless  walk  for  a  minute.  Then  he  took  three 
turns  up  and  down  in  front  of  the  bars,  his  big 
velvet  feet  sounding  "spufh,  spufh,"  on  the  hard 
polished  floor.  "No,"  he  continued,  stopping  in 
front  of  Sa'-zada,  sitting  down,  and  letting  his  big 
round  head  sink  between  his  shoulders,  until  he 
looked  up  from  under  heavy  brows  with  yellow- 
green  eyes,  "no,  I'm  a  Panther.  That  is  the  way 
with  the  men  of  my  land;  to  them  we  are  all 


6  THE  SA'-ZADA  TALES 

'Chita,'    or   else    'Bagh,'    which    surely   means    a 
Tiger." 

"I  know,"  answered  Sa'-zada,  "you  are  neither 
Bagh  the  Tiger,  nor  Chita  the  Leopard." 

"I  should  say  not,"  answered  Pardus.  "Chita 
is  long  of  leg  and  slim  of  gut — a  chaser  of  Rabbits, 
and  of  the  build  of  an  Afghan  Hound.  With  one 
crunch  of  my  jaws — Waugh  !  Why,  I  could  break 
his  neck." 

"What's  the  difference,  anyway,"  objected 
Magh,  "whether  you  are  a  Leopard  or  Panther— 
you  all  belong  to  the  family  of  Throat  Cutters? 
But  what  bothers  me  is  that  one  is  black,  one  is 
yellow,  and  one  is  white;  now,  in  my  family,  we 
are  all  of  one  shade." 

"A  very  dirty  color,  too,"  sneered  Pardus. 
"Waugh-hough !  no  color  at  all — just  dirt!" 

"That  is  so  that  murderers  like  you  cannot  see 
me  to  eat  me,"  answered  Magh.  "If  I  am  on 
the  ground,  am  I  not  the  color  of  the  ground? 
And  when  I  am  curled  up  on  the  limb  of  a  tree 
am  I  not  like  a  knot  on  the  tree  trunk?  That  is 
to  keep  me  safe  from  you  and  Python." 

"That  may  be  so,"  answered  Pardus,  "but  I, 
who  hunt  in  the  early  night,  find  this  black  coat  the 
very  thing.  Soft  Paws !  I  have  come  so  close  to 
a  Bullock,  working  up  wind,  of  course,  that  one 
spring  completed  the  Kill." 

"Umph,  umph!"  grunted  Hathi,  with  eager  in 
terest.  "All  that  appears  reasonable;  but,  tell  me, 


THE  BLACK  LEOPARD  7 

Brothers,  why  is  Yellow  Leopard  so  bright  in  his 
spots  ?  And  if  your  black  coat  serves  you  so  well, 
how  does  the  other,  who  is  white,  manage?" 

"I  speak  only  of  myself,"  joined  in  Rufous,  the 
Yellow  Leopard.  "True,  I  also  hunt  at  night  at 
times,  but  it's  slow  work;  perhaps  a  long  night 
watch  by  a  water  pool,  and  then  only  the  kill  of  a 
Chinkara — a  mouthful,  and  in  the  time  of  scarce 
food,  why,  one  must  stalk  when  the  Grass-feeders 
are  within  range  of  one's  eye.  Who  is  there 
amongst  you  all,  even  Soor  (Wild  Boar),  with  his 
sharp  Pig  eyes,  that  can  say,  when  I  am  crouched 
amongst  the  bushes  with  the  sun  making  bright 
spots  all  over  the  jungle,  'There  is  Yellow  Leopard, 
who  is  a  slayer.'  Not  only  is  it  good  for  the  Kill, 
this  coat  of  mine,  but  when  the  hunt  is  on  from  the 
other  side,  when  I  seek  to  keep  clear  of  the  Men- 
kind — by  my  caution  !  more  than  once,  when  it  has 
been  that  way,  have  I  slipped  quietly  through  the 
young  jungle,  and  left  the  Beaters  running  up 
against  each  other,  asking  which  way  went  Bagh. 
I  am  no  night  prowler  like  Pardus,  for  often  have 
I  killed  in  the  open." 

"I  know  nothing  of  all  this  matter,"  declared 
White  Leopard;  "but  had  I  been  black  like  Pardus, 
or  black-spotted  like  Rufous,  I  had  died  of  a  lean 
stomach  in  the  white  mountains  from  which  I  come. 
Why,  there,  on  the  hillside,  every  rock  gleams 
white  in  the  sunlight — not  spotted,  mind  you,  for 
there  is  no  jungle  such  as  Rufous  speaks  of;  even 


8  THE  SA'-ZADA  TALES 

the  sand-hills  are  so  white  with  the  hot  light  that  a 
mate  of  mine  has  been  almost  at  my  side  before  I 
knew  it." 

"White  Leopard  is  from  the  Safed  Kho  Moun 
tains,  the  White  Range,  in  Afghanistan,"  said 
Sa'-zada  for  the  information  of  the  others. 

"I  know,"  declared  Unt  the  Camel;  "I've  been 
there — just  the  loveliest  hot  sandy  hills  and  plains 
in  the  whole  wrorld.  But,  tell  me,  Little  Brother  of 
the  Blood-kind,"  he  bubbled,  "it  is  not  always  sun 
light  there — at  times  the  white  storm  comes — high 
up  in  the  range — what  do  you  do  then?" 

"My  coat  gets  whiter  still,"  answered  Leopard; 
"and  if  I  close  my  eyes  and  stalk  by  scent  alone, 
why,  you  would  never  see  me  till  I  was  at  your 
throat." 

"It's  either  a  lie  or  most  curious  truth,"  grunted 
Magh,  biting  the  Fox  Terrier's  ear  till  he  squealed. 
"Here  is  a  Pup  that  is  white  all  the  time,  and  no 
lies  about  it,  either." 

"Oh,  it's  the  truth,"  asserted  Wapoos,  the  Hare ; 
"in  the  winter  time  I,  also,  turn  white  to  save  my 
throat  from  Lynx  or  Marten;  though  it  is  not  of 
my  own  doing,  to  be  sure." 

"It's  Wie-sak-ke-chack,  who  is  God  of  all  Ani 
mals,  who  arranges  it  this  way,"  said  Mooswa, 
solemnly. 

"Well,"  interrupted  Sa'-zada,  "one  of  you 
Leopards  tell  us  of  the  manner  of  your  coming 
here." 


THE  BLACK  LEOPARD  9 

"As  I  have  said,"  began  White  Leopard,  "I 
was  born  in  the  Safed  Mountains,  and  it  was  a 
year  of  much  hunger — 

"The  very  year  I  was  born,"  declared  Magh; 
"there  hardly  seemed  more  than  three  nuts  or  ber 
ries  in  the  world." 

"Come  up  here,  Chatterbox,"  grunted  Hathi, 
winding  his  trunk  around  Magh's  body,  and  lifting 
her  to  his  massive  head. 

"Let  me  hold  the  Pup,"  whined  Sher  Abi, 
spreading  his  shark  mouth  in  a  disinterested  yawn. 
Hathi  blew  a  handful  of  small  stones  which  he  had 
been  picking  up,  into  the  opening,  causing  Sher  Abi 
to  sputter  and  choke.  When  the  laughter  had  sub 
sided,  White  Leopard  proceeded  with  his  story. 

"As  I  have  said,  it  was  a  year  of  much  hunger, 
because  the  Affrides  made  war,  and  the  Sahibs 
came,  and  it  seemed  as  though  everything  that  had 
life  in  it  was  driven  out  of  the  country.  They  ate 
up  the  Goats  and  Sheep,  and  the  Bullocks  and 
Camels  they  took  to  carry  their  loads.  It  was 
indeed  a  time  of  distressed  stomachs;  and,  to  make 
matters  worse,  my  Father,  who  was  a  killer  of 
Bullocks  and  not  a  Goat  eater,  dropped  the  matter 
of  a  thousand  feet  over  a  cliff  and  was  killed.  Then 
my  mother  came  with  me,  and  I  was  still  a  Cub, 
down  to  the  land  of  the  Marris,  where  there  were 
many  Sheep — the  short-legged  kind  with  the  broad 
fat  tails;  small  they  were,  to  be  sure,  and  hardly  of 
the  bulk  of  even  a  Cub's  desire.  The  very  sweet- 


io  THE  SA'-ZADA  TALES 

ness  of  their  flesh  made  one  wish  that  they  had 
grown  larger.  Hunger  pains !  but  it  was  a  long 
tramp  on  a  lean  stomach,  and  in  the  end  we  fell 
among  Men  thieves — those  of  the  White-kind,  the 
Sahibs." 

"Birds  of  a  feather  on  one  limb,"  sneered  Magh, 
tickling  Hathi  on  the  ear  with  her  sharp  finger. 

"And  in  that  land,  though  there  were  many 
Sheep,  it  was  hard  to  make  a  kill.  Why,  the  Herd 
Men,  Pathans  they  were  called,  which  I  thinh 
means  the  greatest  of  all  thieves,  were  as  wary  as 
Jungle  Dwellers.  At  the  first  try  my  Mother  got 
a  blow  in  the  shoulder  from  one  of  their  evil,  long- 
necked  Firesticks." 

"Ha,  ha!"  laughed  Sa'-zada;  "that  long  gun 
was  a  jezail,  and  the  Pathans  are  good  marksmen, 
too.  I  could  tell  a  story  myself  of  their  shooting; 
but  go  on,  Chita,  it's  your  say." 

"As  for  making  a  kill  at  night,  Waugh!  we  had 
near  starved  watching  for  a  chance;  these  Hillmen 
huddled  their  Sheep  and  Goats  into  caves  like 
children,  and  slept  across  the  opening. 

"And  do  you  know,  Friends,  they  lived  so  close 
with  their  Sheep,  that  I  swear  by  my  mustache  they 
were  of  the  same  smell.  Fine  as  my  scent  is,  one 
night  I  had  crept  close  to  what  my  nose  told  me  was 
a  Sheep,  and  was  just  on  the  point  of  taking  it  by 
the  neck  when  it  got  up  on  its  hind  legs  and  roared 
at  me  with  the  man  cry. 

"We  were  like  to  die  of  hunger  when  Jaruk  the 


THE  BLACK  LEOPARD  1 1 

Hyena  came  sneaking  and  laughing,  and  talked 
of  a  blood  compact  to  Rani,  who  was  my  Mother. 
We  were  so  hungry !  but  it  was  all  to  our  undoing; 
for  the  grinning  sneak  was  a  coward,  and  led  us 
into  an  evil  trap.  He  told  us  of  three  Sahibs,  a 
short  journey  from  where  we  had  our  hunt;  and 
these  Sahibs  were  like  Cubs  in  their  little  knowl 
edge  of  jungle  ways,  having  Sheep  and  Goats 
which  they  tied  to  stakes  close  by  the  white  caves 
in  which  they  lived,  and  never  a  guard  over  them 
at  night.  Waugh !  well  I  remember,  hungry  as  I 
was,  how  the  smell  of  Hyena  fair  turned  my  stom 
ach,  so  that  I  had  little  longing  for  eating  of  any 
kind;  but  Rani,  being  older  and  having  more  wis 
dom,  knew  that  unless  we  soon  found  some  method 
for  making  a  kill  we  should  surely  die. 

"That  night  there  was  a  small  moon  as  we  crept 
down  over  the  valley  and  up  to  a  flat-land  where 
the  Men-kind  lived  in  little  white  caves — such  odd 
caves,  too,  in  one  place  to-day  and  in  another  the 
next." 

"He  means  tents,"  explained  Sa'-zada;  "being  a 
Cave  Dweller  himself,  his  knowledge  of  houses  is 
limited." 

"It's  a  wonder  he  didn't  call  them  trees,"  mut 
tered  Magh. 

"Hyena  stole  along  like  a  shadow  of  nothing,  so 
smooth  and  soft  were  his  feet — a  proper  sneak,  I 
must  say  I  thought  him  even  then,  Cub  as  I  was." 

"Are  you  listening,  Jaruk?"  called  Magh,  mail- 


1 2  THE  SA'-ZADA  TALES 

ciously;  "this  was  a  Brother  of  yours  who  was  in 
partnership  with  Chita." 

But  Hyena  only  grinned  a  frothy  laugh,  and 
slunk  over  behind  Sher  Abi. 

"Well,"  proceeded  White  Leopard,  "we  crept 
along,  our  bellies  close  to  earth,  till  we  came  to  a 
little  ledge,  where  Rani  and  I  waited,  while  Jaruk 
stole  up  to  the  white  caves  to  see  how  the  stalk  was. 

"  'They  sleep  like  the  young  of  Owls  in  day 
time,'  he  whispered  when  he  returned;  'even  I, 
wyho  am  a  creature  of  fear,  and  not  like  you,  Rani, 
a  slayer  of  Bullocks,  have  rubbed  my  lean  jaws 
against  two  fat  Goats  that  are  chewing  the  sweet 
cud  of  plenty.'  ' 

"How  your  mouth  must  have  watered,  White 
Shirt,"  sneered  Magh. 

"Then  Rani  commenced  the  stalk,  and  I,  even  a 
Cub,  though  I  had  always  lain  hidden  while  she 
was  making  the  kill  before,  followed  close  at  her 
heels.  Even  now  I  remember  just  how  Rani  made 
the  kill.  First  one  paw,  and  then  the  other,  she 
stretched  out,  and  pulled  herself  along,  with  never 
so  much  as  the  rattle  of  a  single  stone.  The  Goats 
were  like  the  Sahibs  in  the  caves,  safe  in  the  con 
ceit  which  comes  of  a  full  stomach.  When  Rani 
crouched  lower  than  ever  and  braced  her  hind  paws 
carefully,  I  knew  that  the  charge  was  on.  Waugh, 
waugh-houk !  By  the  neck  she  had  one — for  that 
is  the  way  of  our  kind  always — and  with  a  jerk  he 
was  thrown  on  her  shoulder,  and  away  up  the  hill 


THE  BLACK  LEOPARD  13 

she  raced.  I  tried  for  the  other,  but,  being  new  to 
the  kill,  missed,  getting  only  the  rope  in  my  teeth. 
Even  as  I  chased  after  Rani  I  could  not  help  but 
laugh  in  spite  of  my  miss,  for  Hyena  was  scream 
ing  as  he  ran,  'Did  you  get  the  fat  one,  the  very 
fat  one?'" 

"The  Greedy  Pig,"  commented  Magh. 

"Ugh,  ugh,  ugh!"  grunted  Soor.  "Why  should 
he  be  likened  to  one  of  my  kind  ?  More  like  he  had 
a  paunch  full  of  peanuts,  or  other  filth,  such  as  you 
carry,  Miss  Bleary-eye;  or  if  he  were  greedy,  was 
he  not  like  unto  his  mate,  Chita,  who  will  eat  half 
his  own  weight  at  a  single  kill?" 

"Such  a  row  I  never  heard  in  all  my  life,"  con 
tinued  White  Leopard;  "the  Sahibs,  and  the  black 
men  who  serve  them,  ran  here  and  there  with 
blinking  red  eyes  in  their  hands " 

"The  Man  Fire,"  quietly  commented  Mooswa. 

"And  all  at  once,  over  to  one  side,  there  was  a 
short  growl  from  a  Firestick;  and  a  Sahib  called 
loudly,  'I've  got  him!  I've  got  him!' 

"I  wondered  what  it  could  be,  for  Rani  and  I 
wrere  together  with  the  Goat.  I  almost  hoped  it 
was  Jaruk;  but  he  was  close  at  our  heels,  sniffing 
with  his  hungry  nose,  and  fairly  eating  the  sand 
where  some  of  the  Goat's  blood  had  trickled  into  it. 
Then  all  the  blinking  red  eyes  passed  swiftly  to 
where  the  Sahib  was,  and  we  heard  them  laughing 
— only  louder  than  Hyena  laughs. 

"Next  day  Jaruk  discovered  that  the  Sahib  had 


i4  THE  SA'-ZADA  TALES 

killed  the  other  Goat  with  his  Firestick  in  the  dark, 
thinking  it  was  Rani. 

"Of  course,  one  Goat  did  not  keep  the  hunger 
off  very  long;  but  for  three  days  we  did  not  make 
another  kill.  Not  but  that  we  tried.  Each  night 
we  went  close  to  the  white  caves,  and  Jaruk — I 
must  say  he  had  a  nose  like  a  Vulture's  eye — came 
back  with  a  tale  that  the  Sahibs  were  watching  with 
their  Firesticks.  But  the  next  night  we  got  another 
Goat.  Cunning  Animals  !  but  Jaruk  used  to  laugh, 
and  even  coaxed  Rani  to  make  a  kill  of  one  of  the 
Men-kind. 

"Then  one  night  we  crept  as  before,  close  for  a 
kill,  and  Jaruk  came  back  to  us  laughing  as  though 
there  wasn't  a  Sahib  in  all  the  Marri  country.  Rani 
growled  at  him  for  a  fool.  Waugh-houk !  did  he 
mean  to  have  us  all  killed  with  his  noise?  And 
who  was  to  do  the  killing,  Jaruk  asked  mockingly, 
for  the  white  caves  were  empty,  he  said.  The 
Sahibs,  and  even  the  black-faced  kind,  had  all  gone 
away,  and  left  the  Goats  and  Sheep  for  the  pleasure 
of  our  kill. 

''It's  a  Raji  (war),  I'm  sure,'  he  said;  'and 
they  have  gone  out  amongst  the  Pathans  to  kill  and 
be  killed,  and  while  they  are  at  it  we,  who  are  pos 
sessed  of  a  great  hunger,  will  make  a  kill  of  the 
Goats  and  Sheep.' 

"At  this  we  went  more  boldly  than  before;  but 
it  was  only  a  trap.  These  of  the  Men-kind  whom 
we  had  likened  to  young  Owls,  were  up  on  the  hill 


THE  BLACK  LEOPARD  15 

behind  a  stone  sangar;  and  just  as  we  came  to  the 
Goats  in  the  bright  moonlight  there  was  such  a 
crashing  of  Firesticks,  and  appearing  of  what 
Mooswa  calls  the  Man  Fire,  that  I  hope  I  may 
never  see  it  again.  Rani  was  killed,  as  also  was — 
which  was  not  so  bad — Jaruk  the  Hyena.  I  had  a 
paw  broken,  which  to  this  day  makes  me  go  lame. 

"Then  the  Men-kind  rushed  down,  and  the 
black-faced  ones  were  for  killing  me  also;  but  one 
of  the  Sahibs,  speaking,  said:  'This  is  a  Cub.  We 
will  send  him  to  Sa'-zada.'  ' 

White  Leopard  ceased  speaking,  and  Sa'-zada, 
putting  his  hand  in  between  the  bars,  patted 
his  paw,  and  said:  "Poor  old  Chita!  it  may  not 
be  so  nice  here  as  in  your  own  land,  but  we'll 
see  that  you  do  not  go  hungry,  anyway.  Now, 
Rufous,  my  big  Yellow  Leopard,  you  should 
also  have  an  interesting  account  of  yourself  to 
give." 

"Quite  likely,"  exclaimed  Magh;  "we'll  hear 
some  more  rare  boasting,  I'll  warrant." 

"A  true  tale  is  no  boast,"  said  Mooswa,  sol 
emnly.  "I,  who  have  had  strange  adventures, 
think  it  no  harm  to  talk  them  over." 

"Oh,  you'll  have  a  chance,  Fat  Nose!"  retorted 
Magh;  "but  first  let  us  have  a  good,  hearty  lie 
from  Leopard." 

"There  will  be  no  lies,"  declared  Sa'-zada,  "for 
I  have  all  these  matters  in  The  Book — though  they 
are  not  half  so  interestingly  written,  I  must  say, 


1 6  THE  SA'-ZADA  TALES 

as  you  can  tell  them  yourselves,  if  you  are  so 
minded." 

"Phrut !"  muttered  Hathi  through  his  big  trunk. 
"We'll  have  the  lies  as  spice — that  will  be  when 
Magh's  turn  comes." 

Thus  appealed  to,  Yellow  Leopard  commenced: 
"I  came  from  a  jungle  land — Burma." 

"My  home,"  muttered  Hathi,  longingly. 

"It  may  have  been  the  year  White  Chita 
speaks  of,  for  I  remember  I  was  also  wondrous 
hungry •" 

"You  always  are,"  sneered  Magh. 

"Because  I  have  not  a  paunch  that  holds  a  thief's 
load,  whether  it  be  fish,  fruit  or  filth,"  retorted 
Rufous.  "But,  as  I  was  saying  when  this  Goat- 
faced  Ape  interrupted  me,  I  was  hungry,  and, 
walking  through  the  thick  jungle,  discovered  a 
Bullock — young,  of  great  fatness.  By  a  rare 
chance  it  seemed  caught  in  a  branch  of  the  elephant 
creeper — 

"Elephant  what?"  muttered  Hathi.  "Not  of 
our  kind.  We  have  naught  to  do  with  the  killing 
of  any  young." 

Sa'-zada  explained:  "Yellow  Leopard  means  the 
giant  jungle  vine  called  'elephant  creeper,'  which 
runs  for  perhaps  the  length  of  a  mile,  and  is  so 
strong  that  it  pulls  down  great  trees  and  smothers 
them  in  its  grasp." 

"Oh,  jungle  wood,"  cried  Hathi,  much  relieved, 
"that's  an  elephant  of  another  color." 


THE  BLACK  LEOPARD  17 

"I  shikarried  the  small  Bullock  most  carefully," 
continued  Rufous.  "Round  and  round  I  went,  tak 
ing  the  wind  from  every  quarter;  there  was  the 
scent  of  nothing  but  the  white  jasmine,  and  the 
yellow-hearted  champac.  When  he  saw  me  the 
Bullock-young  became  stupid  with  much  fear;  the 
two  of  us  stood  facing  each  other.  He  pulled  back 
tight  on  the  thing  that  held  him,  watching  me  with 
eyes  that  seemed  as  big  as  the  black  spots  on  my 
ears.  I  crept  closer,  and  closer,  and  closer;  for 
that  is  always  the  way  with  my  kind;  whether  the 
prey  be  small  or  great,  we  kill  after  the  same  man 
ner  always.  Brothers,  know  you  aught  of  fear? 
We  of  the  Blood-kind  know  it  well.  The  Bullock's 
legs  shivered  like  leaves  that  tremble  in  the  wind; 
and  he  asked  me  with  his  big  eyes  to  go  away  and 
not  take  him  by  the  throat  for  his  blood.  How 
did  he  know  that,  Brothers — how  did  he  know  that 
I  was  not  coming  like  one  of  his  own  kind  to  help 
him  in  his  trouble  ?  And  the  fear  that  I  speak  of 
was  in  his  eyes. 

"With  a  roar,  Waugh-hough !  I  charged  full  at 
him;  my  strong  jaws  fastened  on  his  throat,  and, 
with  a  quick  turn  upwards,  I  threw  him  on  his 
back,  and  his  neck  was  broken.  Ghu-r-r-r-h ! 
Whur-r-r-h !  his  young  blood  was  sweet  as  it 
trickled  into  my  jaws,  for  I  was  so  hungry.  Not 
that  I  drank  his  blood — that  is  a  lie  of  the  Men- 
kind  who  know  little  of  our  ways." 

"They're    all    alike,"    chattered    Magh;    "they 


1 8  THE  SA'-ZADA  TALES 

murder,  and  it  is  all  right  because  they  are 
hungry." 

"Yes,"  retorted  Yellow  Leopard,  "if  I  alone 
made  a  kill  perhaps  that  would  be  wrong;  but  we 
are  all  alike — it  is  our  way  of  life.  You  are  an  evil- 
looking,  flea-covered,  pot-bellied  Monkey,  but  your 
kind  are  all  alike,  so  that  is  also  your  excuse." 

Hathi  shoved  the  tip  of  his  trunk  in  his  mouth, 
pretending  to  pick  his  teeth,  but  really  to  smother 
the  laughter  that  fairly  shook  his  huge  sides. 

"By  a  find  of  much  eating!"  ejaculated  Gidar. 
"How  I  wish  I  had  been  with  you,  Killer  of  Cattle. 
A  whole  Bullock !  Eating  of  the  choicest  kind  for 
three  days  at  least.  Often  for  the  length  of  that 
time  have  I  searched  through  a  famine-stricken 
village  in  my  native  land,  and  in  the  end  achieved 
nothing,  in  the  matter  of  food,  but  a  pot  of  hot 
rice  water  thrown  on  my  back  by  a  Boberchie 
(cook) — an  opium-eating  stealer  of  his  Master's 
goods." 

"Would  that  you  had  been  in  my  place,"  sneered 
Yellow  Leopard,  "for  even  as  I  was  going  away 
with  my  kill— 

"Squee-squee-squee !"  interrupted  Magh  with  a 
sneering  laugh.  "Even  I,  who  am  a  Tree  Dweller 
of  little  knowledge,  knew  that  a  tale  from  this 
Cut-throat  would  soon  run  into  a  lie  of  great 
strength.  May  I  kiss  the  Tiger  if  I  believe  that 
Chita  carried  away  a  young  Bullock." 

"You  are  wrong,   Magh,"  reproved  Sa'-zada; 


"THE  THING  THAT  HAD  ME  BY  THE  PAW  WAS  OF  A  FIENDISH  KIND. 


THE  BLACK  LEOPARD  19 

"in  my  hunting  days  have  I  seen  even  Bhainsa,  the 
tame  Buffalo,  who  is  like  unto  a  small  Elephant, 
carried  a  full  half-mile  by  Bagh." 

"Yes,"  asserted  Yellow  Leopard,  "had  the 
kill  been  an  Ape  like  unto  Magh,  I  had  bolted 
it  at  one  mouthful  lest  the  sight  of  it  made  me 
ill.  As  I  was  saying,  I  took  the  young  Bullock 
in  my  mouth,  but  at  the  first  step  my  forepaw 
was  lifted  by  something  of  great  strength.  I  was 
surprised,  for  I  had  seen  nothing — nothing  but 
the  kill.  The  thing  that  had  me  by  the  paw 
was  of  a  fiendish  kind.  Jungle-wisdom !  but  I 
was  at  a  loss.  Dropping  my  prey  I  tried  first 
this  way  and  then  that  to  break  away,  but  it 
gave  with  me  every  time,  and  when  I  was  tired 
lifted  me  to  my  hind  legs,  for  the  pull  was  always 
upward." 

"Was  it  a  Naht?"  queried  Hathi.  "One  of  the 
Burmese  jungle  Spirits  that  live  in  the  Leppan 
Tree?" 

"You  were  snared,"  declared  Sa'-zada;  "I  know, 
I've  seen  it.     A  strong  green  bamboo  bent  down, 
the  snare  fastened  to  it,  and  once  over  your  paw — 
no  wonder  you  were  on  your  hind  legs  most  of  the 
time  like  a  dancing  Dervish." 

"Why  did  you  not  bite  it  off  ?"  queried  Wolf. 

"Neither  would  you,"  answered  Leopard; 
"though  I  tried.  The  evil-minded  Men  seemed  to 
know  just  what  I  would  do,  and  had  put  a  big 
loose  bamboo  over  the  cord.  It  was  always  down 


20  THE  SA'-ZADA  TALES 

against  my  paw,  and  simply  whirled  about  from 
my  teeth." 

"Why  didn't  you  trumpet?"  asked  Elephant. 

"I  haven't  a  bugle  nose  like  you,  Brother;  but 
I  roared  till  the  jungle  shook  in  fear — even  at  the 
risk  of  bringing  about  me  the  Jungle  Dogs,  who 
hunt  in  packs,  as  you  all  know." 

"Whee-ugh!"  whined  Boar;  "Baola,  the  mad 
kind.  Nothing  can  stand  against  them.  When 
they  drive,  the  jungle  is  swept  clean.  Better  to  die 
in  peace  than  make  a  noise  and  be  torn  to  pieces 
by  their  ugly  fangs." 

"And  who  came?"  queried  Magh.  "I  suppose 
you  were  like  the  Bullock,  and  your  eyes  grew  big 
with  the  fear,  and  you  begged  them  to  go  away  and 
not  hurt  you.  It  was  all  right  when  you  were  to 
make  the  kill  yourself — it  was  fine  sport.  Bah ! 
I'm  glad  you  were  snared — I  hate  a  taker  of  life." 

"The  Men-kind  came,"  answered  Leopard 
meekly,  for  the  mention  of  his  fear  made  him 
abashed;  "and  seeing  that  I  was  caught,  a  Sahib 
would  not  let  the  Black-Men  kill  me,  but  set  them 
to  make  a  strong  Bamboo  cage.  I  was  put  in  that 
and  sent  here  to  Sa'-zada." 

"I've  been  thinking,"  began  Mooswa,  plain 
tively. 

"Well,  now!"  exclaimed  Magh;  "I  thought  you 
were  asleep,  Old  Heavy-eye.  If  you  think  with 
your  nose,  your  thoughts  must  have  been  of  great 
importance." 


THE  BLACK  LEOPARD  21 

Mooswa  sniffed  solemnly  and  continued:  "You 
said  you  were  hungry,  Yellow  Leopard.  Was  it 
not  a  land  of  much  good  feeding?" 

"It  was  a  bad  year — a  year  of  starvation,"  an 
swered  Chita.  "Up  to  that  time  the  way  of  my 
life  had  been  smooth,  for  I  had  found  the  manner 
of  an  easy  kill.  To  be  sure,  Soor  is  not  the  pick  of 
all  good  food " 

"  'Soor,'  indeed!"  grunted  Wild  Boar.  "Ugh, 
ugh,  ugh!  by  the  length  of  my  tusks  you  would 
have  found  me  tough  eating." 

"You  see,"  continued  Chita,  paying  no  attention 
to  this  interruption,  "the  wild  Pigs  were  horrid 
thieves " 

"You  were  well  mated,"  mumbled  Magh,  stuf 
fing  a  handful  of  peanut  shells  in  Hathi's  ear. 

"They  used  to  go  at  night  to  the  rice  fields  of 
the  poor  natives,  and  chew  and  chew,  and  grunt, 
and  row  amongst  themselves,  until  the  Men-kind 
were  nearly  ruined  because  of  their  greediness." 

"But  they  did  not  eat  the  natives,"  objected 
Boar. 

"Neither  did  I,"  protested  Chita — "while  the 
Pigs  lasted,"  he  muttered  to  himself.  "Knowing 
of  all  this,  I  made  out  a  new  kill-plan.  At  the  first 
beginning  of  dark  time  I  would  go  quietly  down 
to  the  rice  fields,  hide  myself  in  the  straw  that  was 
near  to  the  place  where  the  Men-kind  tramped  the 
grain  from  its  stalk  with  Buffalo,  and  wait  for  the 
coming  of  the  rice  thieves.  Soon  one  dark  shadow 


22  THE  SA'-ZADA  TALES 

would  slip  from  the  jungle,  then  another,  and  an 
other,  until  they  were  many. 

"  'Chop,  chop,  chop  !'  I'd  hear  their  wet  mouths 
going  in  the  rice;  and  all  the  time  growling  and 
whining  amongst  themselves  because  of  the  labor 
it  was,  and  for  fear  that  one  had  better  chance  than 
another;  not  in  peace,  but  with  many  rows,  striking 
sideways  at  each  other  with  their  coarse,  ugly 
heads." 

"You're  a  beauty!"  commented  Wild  Boar. 
"When  you  shove  your  ugly  face  up  to  the  bars 
the  women-kind  scream,  and  jump  back — I've  no 
ticed  that." 

"Presently,"  continued  Chita,  "one  would  come 
my  way,  seeing  the  great  pile  of  straw,  and  I'd  have 
him.  Jungle  Dwellers!  how  he'd  squeal;  and  his 
mates  would  scurry  away  jinking  and  bounding 
like  Kakur  Deer.  Cowardly  swine  they  were. 
Now,  Buffalo,  when  one  of  my  kind  charged  them, 
would  throw  themselves  together  like  men  of  the 
war-kind,  and  stand  shoulder  to  shoulder." 

"Yes;  but,  great  Cat,"  objected  Boar,  "you  took 
care  to  seize  upon  a  young  one,  I  warrant.  Sup 
pose  you  come  out  here  and  try  a  charge  with  me. 
Ugh,  ugh!  I'll  soon  slit  up  your  lean  sides  with 
my  sharp  tusks." 

"Be  still!"  commanded  Sa'-zada;  "here  we  are 
all  friends,  and  this  is  but  a  tale  of  what  has  been." 

Chita  had  turned  in  a  rage  at  Boar's  taunt,  and 
glared  through  the  bars,  his  great  fangs  bared,  and 


THE  BLACK  LEOPARD  23 

tail  lashing  his  sides.  When  the  Keeper  spoke  he 
snarled  in  disdain  at  the  bristling  Pig,  and  con 
tinued  the  story. 

"Then  came  the  hungry  year.  At  the  turning  of 
the  monsoons  there  should  have  been  rain,  but  no 
rain  came.  All  through  the  cold  weather  the 
jungle  had  gone  on  drying  up,  and  the  grass  turned 
brown,  even  to  the  color  of  my  coat.  The  Tree- 
Crickets  and  Toads  whistled  shrill  and  loud,  until 
the  jungle  was  like  a  great  nest  of  the  sweet-feeders 
—the  Bees.  Then  when  it  was  time  for  rain  there 
was  only  more  dryness. 

"The  yellow-clothed  Phoongyis( Priests) prayed; 
and  the  Men-kind  brought  sweetmeats  and  sheet- 
gold  to  their  God  Buddha;  but  still  there  was 
no  rain.  Miles  and  miles  I  traveled  for  a  drink; 
and  if  I  made  a  kill  at  the  pool  it  was  nothing  but 
skin  and  bones.  The  small  Deer  that  bark,  what 
were  they  ?  Not  a  mouthful.  And  the  Pigs  shriv 
eled  up  until  one  might  as  well  have  eaten  straw. 
The  Nilgai  and  the  Sambhur-deer,  as  big  as  you, 
Mooswa,  went  away  from  that  land  of  desolation, 
and  soon  nothing  seemed  to  stir  in  all  the  jungle  but 
the  Koel  Bird;  and  his  cry  of  'fee-e-ever !'  forever 
ringing  in  my  ears  drove  me  full  mad. 

"Then  it  was  that  I  stalked  close  to  the  place 
of  the  Men-kind — though  I  had  never  killed  a 
Bullock  before — and  I  made  a  kill.  But  after  that 
they  took  the  Bullocks  under  their  houses  at  night, 
thinking  I  would  not  venture  so  close. 


24  THE  SA'-ZADA  TALES 

"But  hunger  is  the  death  of  all  fear,  and  even 
there  I  made  a  kill.  Then  again  the  Men-kind,  in 
their  selfishness,  thought  to  outwit  me,  for  about 
the  small  village  they  built  a  stockade." 

"Were  there  no  guns  ?"  queried  Hathi.  "I,  who 
have  been  in  a  big  hunt  with  the  Men-kind,  have 
had  them  on  my  back  with  the  fierce-striking  guns, 
and  all  that  was  in  the  jungle  presently  fell  dead." 

Chita  laughed  disagreeably. 

"I  almost  forgot  about  that.  One  day,  when 
they  were  still  at  the  stockade  making,  I  saw  one  of 
these  Yellow-faced  Men  tying  two  sticks  together 
and  sticking  them  in  the  ground,  somewhat  after 
the  fashion  of  Mooswa's  hind  legs.  Then  surely  it 
was  a  gun  he  put  in  the  crotch  of  the  sticks,  point 
ing  at  the  little  runway  I  had  made  for  myself. 

"I  went  into  the  elephant-grass  that  grew  there 
about,  and  watching  him  took  thought  of  this  thing. 
'It  is  to  do  me  harm,'  I  said,  'for  is  not  that  my 
road?  Always  now  I  will  come  a  little  to  one  side, 
because  of  this  new  thing.' 

"And  in  the  evening,  as  I  came  to  the  village, 
walking  through  the  same  coarse  grass,  but  to  one 
side,  mind  you,  there  saw  I  two  of  these  Men  sit 
ting  behind  this  thing  that  was  surely  a  gun. 

"Only,  because  of  thee,  Sa'-zada,  perhaps  this 
part  were  better  not  in  the  story." 

"If  it  is  a  true  tale  it  is  a  true  tale,"  quoth  Hathi, 
sententiously ;  "and,  as  the  good  Sa'-zada  has  said, 
of  things  that  have  happened." 


THE  BLACK  LEOPARD  25 

"Oh,  tell  it  all,"  commented  the  Keeper. 

"Only  say  first  you  were  hungry,"  sneered 
Magh;  "hunger  covers  many  sins." 

"Yes;  I  was  hungry,"  moaned  Chita;  "chee- 
wough !  so  hungry.  The  Bullock  I  had  killed  was 
but  a  collection  of  bones  tied  up  in  a  thick  skin; 
I  broke  a  good  tooth  trying  to  get  a  supper  off  him. 
And  were  not  the  Men-kind  trying  to  do  evil  for 
me  also,  little  nut-eater,  Magh?  They  would  take 
my  skin  to  the  Sahib  and  get  much  profit  in  bounty. 
I  heard  them  say  that  as  I  lay  in  the  thick  grass. 
I  crept  close,  close — 

"Behind  them,"  volunteered  Wolf,  "I  know. 
You  didn't  look  in  their  eyes,  Brother,  did  you?" 

"They  were  busy  talking,"  declared  Chita,  "and 
did  not  look  my  way.  Suddenly  I  sprang  out  just 
to  frighten  them,  for  they  were  close  to  the  stock 
ade,  and  one  ran  away." 

"Only  one?"  demanded  Mooswa,  simply. 

But  Chita  had  gone  over  to  the  corner  of  his 
cage,  and  sitting  down,  was  swinging  his  big  head 
back  and  forth,  back  and  forth,  with  his  face  turned 
to  the  wall,  like  a  Dog  that  has  been  whipped. 

"He  has  caught  Sa'-zada's  eye,"  whispered 
Magh  in  Hathi's  ear. 

"It's  a  nasty  tale,"  said  the  Keeper,  "but  I  think 
it  is  true." 

"Yes;  it  is  true,"  declared  Wild  Boar;  "that  is 
the  way  of  his  kind." 

"Then,"  said  Sa'-zada,  "they  got  this  Sahib  who 


26  THE  SA'-ZADA  TALES 

has  written  in  The  Book,  and  set  the  snare  for  Chita 
and  caught  him." 

"At  any  rate,  you  were  caught,"  muttered 
Hathi ;  "and  from  what  you  say,  it  seems  to  me  a 
change  for  the  better." 

"Now,  Pardus,"  cried  the  Keeper,  gently  tap 
ping  Panther's  tail,  which  hung  through  between 
the  bars,  "tell  us  of  the  manner  of  your  taking." 

"I  was  caught  twice,"  replied  Pardus,  blinking 
his  eyes  lazily,  and  yawning  until  the  great 
teeth  shone  white  against  his  black  coat;  "but  you 
are  right  to  call  me  Panther,  for  I  am  no  Leopard. 
And  it  is  so  hot  here  and  dry;  quite  like  the  place 
they  took  me  to — they  of  the  black  faces — when  I 
was  first  caught,  being  not  more  than  a  full-grown 
Cub,  as  was  White  Leopard.  That  was  at  Viziana- 
gram,  up  in  the  hills;  but  the  hills  were  not  like 
White  Leopard's,  all  hot  and  dry.  The  jungle  was 
cool  and  fresh,  and  full  of  dark  places  to  hide  in, 
with  deep  pools  of  sweet  water  that  one  might 
drink  after  a  kill.  Here  the  Birds  do  nothing  but 
scream  and  scold;  Hornbill,  and  Cockatoo,  and 
Eagle  make  my  head  ache  with  their  harsh  voices; 
there,  if  a  Bird  had  occasion  to  speak,  it  was  a 
song  about  the  sweet  land  he  lived  in.  It  is  well 
enough  for  Hathi  to  say  that  being  trapped  and 
brought  here  is  a  piece  of  great  luck;  for  my  part, 
all  day  long  I  do  nothing  but  think,  think  of  the 
Madras  Hills.  There  were  mango  and  tamarind, 
and  peepul,  and  huge  banyan  trees,  with  strong 


THE  BLACK  LEOPARD  27 

limbs  stretching  so  far  that  one  could  walk  out  full 
over  the  Deer  paths,  and  wait  in  sweet  content  for 
a  kill.  Perhaps  even  a  big  family  of  bamboos 
growing  up  about  one's  resting-place,  and  whisper 
ing  wrhen  the  wind  blew,  and  closing  up  their  thick 
green  leaves  to  make  shade  when  the  sun  shone. 

"Even  where  the  Men-kind  came  and  sought  to 
grow  raji  were  plantain  trees  and  palm  trees — 
Urgh-h-ah !  why  should  there  be  anything  but 
jungle  all  over  the  world,  it  is  so  beautiful?" 

"Don't  cry  about  it,  Little  Bagheela,"  sneered 
Magh,  "for  surely  there's  some  sort  of  a  story, 
some  wondrous  lie,  in  that  head  of  yours." 

"True,"  continued  Pardus,  as  though  he  had  not 
caught  Magh's  observation,  "there  were  disagree 
able  things  even  there.  Of  course,  it  will  always 
be  that  way  when  the  Bandar-log,  the  Monkeys,  are 
about.  Silly-headed  thieves,  they  were  doing  no 
manner  of  good  to  any  one;  but  more  than  once, 
when  I've  lain  for  hours  waiting  for  the  chance  of 
a  small  kill,  and  the  time  of  the  eating  had  drawn 
near,  everything  would  be  upset  by  the  mad  laugh 
of  Lungour,  the  Bandar-log. 

"But  I  was  caught,  as  Leopard  has  said,  through 
the  coming  together  of  a  lean  stomach  and  a  trap  of 
the  Men-kind — neither  a  snare,  nor  the  Fire-stick, 
but  a  cage  with  a  door  that  fell.  True,  inside  was 
a  Goat,  but  what  mattered  that  once  the  door  was 
down  ? 

"Then   they  brought  me   down   to  the    Raja's 


28  THE  SA'-ZADA  TALES 

palace  in  the  Plains.  Stricken  land !  that  was  a 
place  for  any  one  to  choose  as  a  home — nothing 
but  red  earth,  with  less  growth  than  there  is  on  the 
end  of  my  nose.  The  Men-kind  lived  in  great 
square  caves  that  blared  white  in  the  sun.  Me- 
thinks  White  Leopard  would  have  felt  more  at 
home  there  than  I  did." 

"What  did  those  of  our  kind  eat?"  queried 
Hathi.  "Also,  where  the  Men-kind  are  is  the  Ani 
mal  they  call  Horse,  who  is  a  Grass-eater — was 
there  no  grass?" 

"Scarce  any,"  answered  Pardus;  "the  Black- 
faced  ones  ran  here  and  there  with  sharp  claws, 
taking  up  the  poor  grass  by  the  root,  and  all  for 
the  Raja's  stables." 

"What  did  they  do  with  you,  Bagheela?"  asked 
Magh,  anxious  to  hear  the  story,  for  she  was  get 
ting  sleepy. 

"Put  me  in  a  cage  in  the  rose  garden,  where  were 
others  of  my  kind — only  they  were  of  the  color  of 
Yellow  Leopard.  Of  course,  at  first  I  thought  it 
was  because  the  Raja  was  not  hungry,  and  would 
eat  me  another  day;  but  in  the  next  cage  was  a 
Leopard  who  had  been  there  a  long  time,  and  he 
told  me  why  we  were  shut  up  that  way.  'It's  for 
shikar,'  he  said.  'Soon  all  the  Sahibs  will  gather, 
and  we  will  be  turned  loose,  and  they  will  kill  us 
with  spears  and  the  firestick.'  ' 

"That's  right,"  commented  Sa'-zada,  nodding 
his  head,  "I've  seen  it;  also  is  it  written  in  The 


THE  BLACK  LEOPARD  29 

Book.  The  Raja  was  a  great  sportsman,  and  each 
year  at  Christmas  time  they  had  a  hunt  of  this 
kind." 

"My  Mate  taught  me  a  trick  or  two  that 
helped  pass  the  time,"  continued  Black  Panther. 
"  'Bagheela,'  he  said  to  me,  'they  will  come  to  us 
here  on  Horses;  you  who  have  the  end  cage  may 
perchance  keep  your  hand  in,  and  forget  not  the 
manner  of  a  quick  clutch  with  your  paw.  First, 
purr  and  look  sleepy,'  he  advised;  'second,  never 
strike  when  the  Horse  is  beyond  reach,  for  he  is 
a  creature  of  much  fear;  third,  wait,  wait,  wait — 
have  patience,  Little  Bagheela.  Also,  from  in 
front  nothing  is  done;  but  stand  you  ready  at  the 
end  of  your  cage,  which  is  a  wall,  because  there 
they  cannot  see  you,  and  if  the  Man  comes  close, 
strike  quick  and  sure,  for  of  this  manner  there  is 
never  but  one  chance.' 

"Now,  it  happened  that  a  fat  Sahib  came  often 
to  the  cage,  and  I  could  see  that  it  was  to 
teach  the  Horses  not  to  be  afraid  of  us.  It  was 
hard  to  mind  what  my  Mate  said,  for  the  Sahib 
poked  me  in  the  ribs  with  a  stick,  or  tickled 
me  in  the  face  with  his  riding-whip;  but  Yel 
low  Leopard  was  always  whispering  through  his 
whiskers,  'Wait,  wait,  wait — have  patience,  Little 
Bagheela.'  " 

"This  is  a  long  tale,"  whined  Magh,  sleepily. 

"Keep  still,  Little  One,"  objected  Hathi,  "no 
great  stalk  is  ever  done  in  a  hurry." 


30  THE  SA'-ZADA  TALES 

"One  day,"  continued  Pardus,  "I  heard  the 
Horse  coming  by  the  end  of  my  cage. 

'"Quick!  Up!'  called  my  Mate,  Yellow 
Leopard. 

"Like  a  spring  on  a  Buck  I  was  up  on  my 
hind  legs  against  the  end  wall,  just  at  the  last  iron 
bar,  ready.  Around  the  corner  came  the  Sahib 
quite  close.  It  was  a  new  Horse,  and  he  thought 
to  take  pleasure  out  of  frightening  the  poor  Animal 
by  a  sudden  sight  of  us. 

"  Waugh-houk !  With  a  strong  reach  I  had  the 
Sahib  by  the  leg. 

"Whoo-whoo,  waugh-waugh,  whoo-o-o-o-waugh ! 
how  he  roared.  Of  course,  I  did  not  get  him  alto 
gether,  for  the  Horse  saved  his  life  by  jumping 
sideways.  I  licked  the  blood  that  was  on  my  claws, 
and  Yellow  Leopard  and  I  both  laughed  till  the 
Keeper  came  running  with  a  sharp  iron  bar." 

"I  warrant  you  didn't  laugh  then,"  chimed  in 
Magh. 

"No;  he  beat  me,  though  it  was  all  Yellow  Leop 
ard's  fault.  The  fat  Sahib  swore  that  he  would 
have  the  first  spear  in  when  I  was  let  out  at  the 
time  of  the  hunt.  He  was  for  having  me  killed  in 
the  cage;  but  the  Raja  said,  'No;  his  turn  will  come 
in  the  Shikar';  and  when  the  Raja  spoke  there  was 
an  end  of  all  argument. 

'  'Little  Bagheela,'  said  Yellow  Leopard  to  me, 
'we  will  get  away  to  the  jungles  together  at  the 
hunt  time.  If  they  let  you  out  first — never  fear, 


THE  BLACK  LEOPARD  31 

Little  One,  you  will  have  a  start,  for  that  is  the 
Raja's  way,  we  are  to  have  a  show  for  our  lives, 
though  I  warrant  one  cannot  get  very  far  in  five 
minutes — do  you  run  very  fast,  and  when  you  have 
come  to  the  small  mud-caves  of  the  Black-kind, 
hide  in  the  place  where  the  Bullocks  are  kept. 
They  will  not  look  for  you  there,  and  not  finding 
you  they  will  come  back,  thinking  you  have  gone 
to  the  jungles.  When  I  am  let  out,  I,  too,  will  go 
that  way,  and  together  nothing  will  stand  between 
us  and  the  hills.  Should  I  go  first  I  will  wait  for 
you.' 

"Then  one  day  a  cage  that  was  on  wheels  was  put 
against  the  door  behind  which  I  was  kept,  and  with 
bars  that  were  hot  they  drove  me  into  it.  Then 
I  was  taken  out  to  the  fields,  and  when  the  Sahibs — 
there  were  many  of  them — had  gone  back  on  the 
road,  the  door  was  opened.  Would  you  believe  it, 
Friends,  though  I  had  been  eating  my  heart  out 
behind  the  bars  yonder,  now  that  I  had  the  chance, 
I  was  almost  afraid  to  venture  on  the  plain.  Even 
as  I  crept  forth,  a  yellow-leafed  bush  suddenly 
bent  in  the  wind,  and  I  sprang  into  the  air  as 
though  it  were  the  charge  of  a  Wild  Boar — 

"Listen  to  that,  Friends,"  grunted  Soor;  "of  all 
Jungle  Dwellers,  he  has  most  fear  of  me." 

"But  remembering  what  Yellow  Leopard  had 
said,  I  ran  swiftly  toward  the  little  village  that 
was  between  me  and  the  hills;  but  not  straight 
in  the  open,  mind  you — I  had  not  lived  by  the 


32  THE  SA'-ZADA  TALES 

kill  in  the  jungle  for  nothing.  First  I  leaped 
full  over  a  long  line  of  the  fierce-pointed  aloe 
bush- 

"Phrut!  I  know  that  plant,"  muttered  Hathi; 
"it  has  points  sharper  than  the  goad  of  any 
Mahout.  Sore  toes!  but  I  know  it  well." 

"Even  so,"  continued  Pardus,  "I  ran  swiftly 
along  in  the  shadow  of  this,  and  soon  found  a 
Bullock  cave  such  as  Yellow  Leopard  spoke  of.  In 
the  end  the  Men-kind  could  not  find  me,  for  I  lay 
still,  though  once  I  heard  the  voice  of  the  fat 
Sahib  quite  close,  swearing  that  he  longed  for  a 
sight  of  the  'black  brute.'  That  was  not  my  name, 
for  I  am  Pardus  the  Panther. 

"After  a  little  I  heard  more  shouting;  then  there 
was  a  rustling  noise  which  I  knew  was  the  gallop 
of  Yellow  Leopard.  He  was  calling  as  he  ran, 
'Ehow-Ehow-Hough,  Bagheela !'  just  as  we  call 
to  our  Mates  in  the  jungle. 

''A-Houk!  here  am  I,'  I  cried,  rushing  out, 
thinking  that  we  would  soon  be  safe  in  the  cool 
jungle  again.  And  away  we  dashed.  By  the  loss 
of  a  Kill !  we  had  not  gone  far  till  almost  in  front 
of  us  we  saw  the  fat  Sahib  and  three  others  on 
their  Horses  full  in  our  path. 

'  'Oh-ho,  my  Black  Beauty!'  he  cried,  when  he 
saw  me;  'now  we'll  wipe  out  the  score.'  ' 

"That's  like  the  Men-kind,"  growled  Raj  Bagh, 
the  Tiger;  "they  cage  us  and  kill  us,  and  if  we 
so  much  as  raise  a  claw  in  defence  of  our  lives  we 


THE  BLACK  LEOPARD  33 

are  reviled,  and  they  have  a  score  against  us  to 
wipe  out." 

"Yes,"  asserted  Pardus,  "and  long  holding  in 
their  hate,  too.  If  we  fail  in  a  kill,  do  we  go  long 
hungered,  turning  from  everything  else  until  we 
have  slain  the  one  that  has  escaped  us?  But  there 
was  the  fat  Sahib,  who  had  not  gone  back  with 
the  others,  but  was  still  searching  to  kill  me,  Black 
Panther.  Surely  that  was  not  what  they  call  shikar 
(sport) ,  but  a  matter  of  hate  he  had  laid  up  against 
me." 

"You  should  have  taken  his  beatings,"  declared 
Hathi,  "even  as  I  have,  more  times  than  there  are 
tusks  to  your  paws;  phrut,  phrut!  it  has  always 
been  that  way  with  us  Jungle  Dwellers.  When 
the  Sahib  beat  us  it  is  evil  fortune  if  we  do  not 
let  it  rest  at  that.  True,  there  was  a  Mahout  once 
that  went  too  far — but  what  am  I  saying?  surely 
I  am  half  asleep.  It  is  your  story,  Bagheela — you 
were  saying  that  the  fat  Sahib  had  killed  you — I 
mean " 

"Yes,"  said  Pardus,  "the  fat  Sahib — I  stopped; 
so  did  Yellow  Leopard,  with  an  angry  growl. 
Then  behind  I  heard  a  little  trumpet  from 
Hathi." 

"Not  me,"  exclaimed  the  big  Elephant;  "I 
wasn't  there." 

"Most  surely  it  is  a  wondrous  lie,"  declared 
Magh;  "and  now  he  asks  Ganesh  to  say  he  was 
there  and  saw  it." 


34  THE  SA'-ZADA  TALES 

"No,  no!"  interrupted  Sa'-zada,  "it  was  another 
Elephant." 

"Even  so,"  affirmed  Pardus;  "and  on  his  back 
was  the  Raja,  coming  in  great  haste. 

"  'Charge!'  roared  Yellow  Leopard  to  me,  and 
with  a  rush  that  was  full  of  wickedness  he  went 
straight  for  the  fat  Sahib;  and  before  I  knew  how 
it  was  done,  had  broken  his  neck  with  the  hold 
that  we  all  know  so  well. 

"The  Raja,  without  waiting  for  Hathi  to  kneel, 
jumped  from  his  back,  and  rushing  like  the  charge 
of  a  Sambhur,  drove  his  spear  through  Yellow 
Leopard  as  he  still  held  the  Sahib  by  the  throat, 
and  killed  him.  Well  I  remember  the  spear  was 
buried  head  deep  in  the  ground. 

"In  fear,  I  raced  back  to  the  mud-caves  in  which 
were  the  Bullocks;  and  they  brought  the  cage  again 
and  put  it  to  the  door.  But  I  was  afraid  to  enter 
till  they  dropped  fire  on  me  from  above.  Then  I 
was  taken  back  to  my  old  quarters,  and  in  the  end 
sent  here  to  Sa'-zada." 

"It's  a  pity  the  Sahib  was  killed,"  said  the 
Keeper;  "it  was  a  horrible  death." 

"I  was  sorry  for  Yellow  Leopard,"  declared 
Pardus,  "for  he  tried  to  get  me  away  with  him  to 
the  jungles." 

"Chee-chee!  but  I  am  sleepy,"  yawned  Magh, 
sliding  down  Hathi's  trunk  with  the  Pup  under  her 
arm.  "These  tales  of  killings  are  enough  to  make 
one  have  bad  dreams." 


THE  BLACK  LEOPARD  35 

"Dreams!"  exclaimed  Sher  Abi,  opening  his 
eyes,  for  he  had  been  sound  asleep;  "to  be  sure,  to 
be  sure  !  I've  had  a  very  bad  dream.  One  should 
not  eat  so  much;  but  after  all,  I  suppose  it  is  the 
feathers  that  are  indigestible.  E-ugh-h !  Sa'-zada, 
could  you  not  pluck  the  chickens  before  you  give 
them  me  to  eat?  There  was  a  time  when  I  could 
digest— 

"Oh,  move  along,  Magar!"  interrupted  Sa'- 
zada;  "it  is  bed-time  now.  You'll  have  a  chance 
to  talk  some  other  night." 

And  presently  the  Animal  town  of  the  Greater 
City  was  quiet,  save  for  the  bubble  of  Camel's  long 
throat,  and  the  gentle  snore  of  Hathi's  pendulous 
nose.  The  moon  blinked  curiously  through  the 
whispering  leaves,  and  over  all  there  was  the  sol 
emn  hush  that  comes  in  the  night  when  the  days 
are  days  of  fierce  heat. 


Second  Night 

The  Story  of  Hathi  Ganesh,  the 
White-Eared  Elephant 


SECOND  NIGHT 

THE  STORY  OF  HATHI  GANESH,  THE  WHITE-EARED 
ELEPHANT 

IT  was  very  hot.  The  Summer  moon,  pushing 
lazily  through  the  whispering  tracery  of  tall 
elm  trees  that  cut  the  night  sky,  fell  upon  the  same 
group  of  forest  friends  gathered  in  front  of  Tiger's 
cage  that  had  been  there  the  previous  evening, 
when  the  Leopard  brothers  had  discoursed  so 
pleasantly  of  their  Jungle  life. 

"What  is  the  tale  to-night,  Sa'-zada,  loved  Mas 
ter?"  asked  Magh,  the  Ourang-Outang,  standing 
with  one  hand  on  Mooswa's  back,  who  was  lying 
down. 

"It  is  the  talk  of  Hathi,"  answered  the  Keeper. 

Hathi  could  be  heard  blowing  softly  through  his 
trunk  to  clear  his  throat,  then  he  began  his  story: 

"We  were  a  mighty  herd,  all  of  forty,  with  two 
great  Bulls  in  charge,  I  remember;  though  to  be 
sure  when  it  came  to  be  a  matter  of  danger  they 
seemed  to  forget  all  about  being  in  charge  and 
cleared  off  as  fast  as  they  could.  I  soon  got  to 
know  that  the  herd  was  very  proud  of  me." 

39 


40  THE  SA'-ZADA  TALES 

"I  should  think  they  would  be,  my  big  beauty," 
cried  Magh,  patting  his  forehead  affectionately. 

"You  see,"  continued  Hathi,  "these  white  and 
pink  spots  all  over  my  neck  and  ears  were  a  sign 
that  great  luck  had  come  to  the  herd.  Even  the 
Men-kind — but  that,  of  course,  I  discovered  years 
after  at  Ava — even  the  Men-kind  looked  upon  me 
as  sacred,  being  a  White  Elephant.  Besides,  I 
had  but  the  one  tusk,  the  right,  and  that  is  why 
I  am  Ganesh,  the  Holy  One. 

"We  wandered  about  in  the  Jungle,  and  when 
we  Babe  Elephants  were  tired,  the  whole  herd 
waited  until  we  had  rested  and  fed.  That's  why 
the  Bulls  had  nothing  to  do  with  leading  the  herd. 
They  knew  little  of  what  a  calf  could  stand,  so 
Mah,  my  Mother,  always  gave  the  signal  when 
we  were  to  start  or  stop.  I  think  she  was  very 
proud  of  being  the  mother  of  the  lucky  Calf. 

"But  it  was  a  lovely  land  to  dwell  in;  all  hills 
and  valleys  with  plenty  of  cover;  and  down  in  the 
flat  lands  the  Men  grew  raji  and  rice,  and  plan 
tains. 

"I  think  there  must  be  some  very  wise  animal 
who  arranges  all  these  things — puts  each  one  in  the 
Jungle  he  likes  best.  Pardus  was  happy  in  his 
hills,  and  White  Chita  liked  the  snow  mountains, 
and  Yellow  Leopard  the  rice  fields;  and  Mooswa 
has  told  me  when  we've  talked  together,  that  on 
the  far  side  of  his  lands  are  the  loveliest  spruce 
forests  any  Moose  could  wish  to  live  in." 


THE  WHITE-EARED  ELEPHANT    41 

"Perhaps  it  was  Sa'-zada  or  one  of  his  kind," 
ventured  Muskwa,  the  Bear. 

"It  is  God  who  arranges  it,"  declared  the 
Keeper,  in  a  soft  voice. 

"I  don't  know  who  that  may  be,"  muttered 
Hathi,  "but  I  thought  there  was  someone.  Such  a 
lovely  Jungle  it  was;  tall  teak  trees  and  pinkado, 
and  Telsapa  from  which  the  Men-kind  drew  oil 
for  their  fires. 

"For  days,  and  weeks,  and  months  it  would  be 
hot  and  dry;  and  then  three  times  the  big  flower 
would  come  out  on  the  padouk  tree,  and  all  the 
Elephants  would  laugh  and  squeal  with  their 
trunks,  for  they  knew  the  rain  would  surely  come. 
Yes,  when  we  could  see  for  the  third  time  a  big 
cluster  of  flowers,  patter,  patter  on  the  leaves  we 
could  hear  the  rain,  and  soon  drip,  drip,  drip, 
trickle  it  would  come  down  on  our  backs,  washing 
the  dust  and  little  sticks  out  of  every  wrinkle  until 
even  the  old  Bulls  would  commence  to  play  like 
Calves. 

"We  finally  came  to  a  big  river  early  in  the 
morning,  and  every  one  went  in  for  a  wash.  Mind, 
I  was  only  a  babe  about  the  size  of  a  Buffalo.  The 
old  ones  lay  down  in  the  river,  just  keeping  their 
trunks  out  to  breathe,  and  I  thought  to  do  the  same, 
of  course;  but  when  I  flopped  over  on  my  side — 
bad  footing!  there  was  nothing  anywhere  but  soft, 
slippery  water — there  was  quite  a  thousand  miles 
of  it,  and  dark  as  the  blackest  night.  I  could  see 


42  THE  SA'-ZADA  TALES 

nothing,  hear  nothing  only  the  angry  talk  of  the 
water  that  ran  fast.  They  said  that  I  screamed 
like  a  young  pig.  Then  something  strong  grabbed 
me  by  the  hind  leg,  and  pulled  me  out  up  on  the 
bank — it  was  Mah.  She  scolded  roundly.  Then 
she  spanked  me  good  and  hard. 

"All  that  season  I  was  not  allowed  to  go  in  the 
water  again.  Mah  washed  me  down  with  her 
trunk,  squirting  the  water  over  me. 

"The  eating  was  sweet  in  those  Jungles;  but 
best  of  all  I  liked  the  young  plantains  when  they 
were  just  beyond  the  blossom  age,  all  wrapped  up 
in  a  big  leaf,  and  juicy,  and  sweet. 

"The  first  happening  was  from  an  evil-minded 
Bagh  (tiger).  That  evening  I  had  wandered  a 
little  to  one  side,  not  knowing  it,  and  Bagh,  with 
a  fierce  word  in  his  big  throat,  jumped  full  on  my 
head.  Of  course  I  screamed " 

"Like  a  Pig,"  interjected  Boar. 

"Like  a  Babe  Hathi,"  corrected  Elephant. 
"And  Mah,  who  had  been  looking  for  me,  just  in 
the  nick  of  time  threw  Bagh  many  yards  into  the 
Jungle  with  her  trunk.  I  don't  know  how  other 
animals  get  along  without  a  trunk;  it  seems  just 
suited  for  every  purpose. 

"The  next  happening  was  worse,  for  it  came 
from  the  Men-kind.  It  was  a  hot,  hot  day.  We 
were  all  standing  on  a  hill  in  the  shade  of  trees, 
flapping  our  ears  to  keep  the  flies  off,  when  sud 
denly  Old  Bull  kinked  his  head  sideways,  whistled 


THE  WHITE-EARED  ELEPHANT    43 

softly  through  his  trunk,  and  we  all  stopped  flap 
ping  to  listen.  Even  Calf  as  I  was,  I  knew  there 
was  some  danger  near.  In  the  wind  there  was 
nothing — nothing  unusual,  just  the  sweet  scent  of 
the  tiny  little  white  flowers  that  grow  close  to  the 
short  grass.  But  Old  Bull  was  afraid;  he  gave  a 
signal  for  us  to  move,  and  we  started. 

"In  a  minute  there  was  an  awful  cracking  like 
the  breaking  of  a  tree,  only  different,  and  we  all 
ran  here,  there,  everywhere.  Of  course  since  that, 
having  been  taken  in  the  hunt  by  the  Men-kind,  I 
know  it  was  a  gun,  as  they  call  it. 

"Old  Bull  charged  straight  for  a  little  white 
cloud  that  rose  from  where  the  noise  had  been; 
then  crack !  crack !  crack !  the  guns  trumpeted  all 
over  the  Jungle — but  I  won't  tell  any  more  of  that 
happening,  because  Old  Bull  was  killed;  and  Mah, 
too — though  the  Men-kind  said  afterwards,  so  I've 
heard,  that  it  was  a  mistake,  as  they  only  killed 
Bulls,  being  white  hunters,  for  the  sake  of  the  feet 
and  tusks. 

"It  was  late  in  the  evening  before  the  herd  gath 
ered  again,  and  we  traveled  far,  fearing  the  evil  of 
the  Men-kind." 

"Was  there  no  evil  with  your  own  people?" 
queried  Wolf.  "Just  feeding,  and  nothing  else?" 

"Well,"  answered  Hathi,  hesitatingly,  "some 
times  in  a  herd  there  grows  up  one  who  is  a 
'Rogue.'  We  had  one  such,  I  remember.  But  that 
also  came  about  because  of  the  Men-kind — a 


44  THE  SA'-ZADA  TALES 

yellow  man.  It  was  a  Hill-man,  and  when  this 
Rogue  of  whom  I  speak — he  also  was  a  Bull — 
was  just  full  grown,  a  matter  of  perhaps  twenty 
years,  this  Hill-man  thrust  into  his  head,  from  a 
distance,  too,  being  seated  in  a  tree,  an  arrow. 

"The  arrow  remaining  there  as  it  did,  caused 
this  Bull  to  become  of  an  evil  temper.  Quarreling, 
quarreling  always,  butting  his  huge  head  into  a 
comrade  because  of  a  mere  nothing;  and  with  his 
tusks  putting  his  mark  on  many  of  us  without 
cause ;  sometimes  it  would  be  a  kick  from  his  fore 
foot,  or  a  slap  of  his  trunk.  When  we  were  near 
to  the  places  of  the  Men-kind  he  would  wallow  in 
the  rice  fields,  and  pull  up  the  young  plantain  trees 
by  the  roots,  even  knock  the  queer  little  houses 
they  lived  in  to  pieces,  for  they  were  but  of  bamboo 
and  leaves.  Of  course  the  dwellers  ran  for  their 
lives,  and  sometimes  brought  fire,  and  made  noise 
with  their  guns,  and  beat  gongs  to  frighten  him 
away. 

"Many  times  we  drove  him  forth  from  the  herd; 
and  sometimes  he  stayed  away  himself  for  days, 
sulky.  In  the  end  we  lost  him  altogether,  and  we 
were  all  glad;  but  strange  as  it  may  appear,  I  saw 
him  again  in  Rangoon  in  the  timber  yards.  That 
was  after  I  was  caught." 

"Tell  us  about  that  happening,"  pleaded  Sa'- 
zada,  "for  it  is  even  not  written  in  The  Book." 

"I  was  taken  in  a  manner  full  of  deceit,  and  be 
cause  I  had  faith  in  those  of  my  own  kind.  I  was, 


THE  WHITE-EARED  ELEPHANT    45 

perhaps,  fifteen  or  twenty  years  old  at  the  time — 
but  in  a  Hathi's  life  a  year  or  two  is  of  no  moment, 
for  we  are  long-lived — and  what  might  be  called 
second  in  charge  of  the  herd,  a  condition  of  things 
which  I  resented  somewhat,  but  the  Herd  Bull  had 
been  leader  while  I  was  growing  up,  so  there  was 
no  just  claim  on  my  part  really. 

"And  it  happened  in  our  wanderings  that  we 
came  not  far  from  the  greatest  of  all  the  Men's 
places  in  that  land,  Ava  (Mandalay) .  One  day 
as  I  was  pulling  down  the  young  bamboos  and  strip 
ping  the  feathered  top,  a  strange  Hathnl  (female 
elephant)  came  to  me  and  put  her  trunk  softly  on 
my  neck.  She  was  all  alone,  and  I  felt  sorry  for 
her;  besides,  she  was  nice — showed  me  such  lovely 
places  for  good  feeding.  I  spent  a  whole  day  with 
her,  and  the  next  day,  too,  and  as  we  went  through 
the  jungle,  suddenly  we  came  to  a  sort  of  immense, 
strong  hauda.  It  wasn't  a  bit  like  the  Men's  handas 
that  they  live  in,  else  I  should  never  have  been  de 
ceived;  great  trunks  of  trees  growing  up  out  of 
the  ground  straight,  and  close  together,  but  no 
branches  or  leaves  to  them;  as  square  on  top  as 
the  end  of  my  leg.  This  queer-looking  jungle  thing 
troubled  me.  'What  is  it?'  I  asked  Hathni. 

'  'It's  my  home,'  she  replied;  'come  in,   Com 
rade.'  " 

"And  of  course  the  woman  had  her  way,"  re 
marked  Sa'-zada ;  "you  went  into  the  parlor,  Hathi, 
old  chap,  I  suppose." 


46  THE  SA'-ZADA  TALES 

"Not  by  that  name  knew  I  it,  Sa'-zada;  they 
called  it  a  Keddah,  as  I  found  out.  But  I  went  in." 

"And  was  caged,"  laughed  Black  Chita. 

"Inside,"  continued  Hathi,  "was  a  winding  path, 
and  Hathni  trotted  down  this  so  fast  that  I  lost  her. 
A  great  wooden  gate  dropped  behind  me,  and  I 
knew  that  I  was  in  a.  trap.  It  was  a  big  place,  but 
no  openings  to  get  out. 

"Then  the  Men-kind  showed  their  yellow  faces 
all  over  the  walls,  just  like  Hanumen — the  gray- 
whiskered  Monkey  of  those  parts. 

"  'A  White  Elephant  at  last,  at  last!'  they  cried; 
'now  will  the  King  be  pleased.' 

"I  was  left  alone  that  night,  but  the  next  day  the 
Men-kind  came  with  two  ruffianly  Bulls  of  my 
kind  who  bunted  and  bustled  me  about,  and  fought 
me,  while  the  men  slipped  great  strong  ropes  over 
my  legs.  In  a  week  I  was  that  tired  and  sore  from 
this  treatment  that  I  was  ready  to  go  any  place. 
Then  I  was  taken  to  Ava ;  and  such  doings !  I 
dislike  to  tell  it  all ;  it's  hardly  modest. 

"They  put  a  silk  covering  over  me  to  keep  the 
Flies  off,  and  a  garland  of  white  jasmine  flowers 
about  my  neck — sweet-smelling  flowers  they  were ; 
in  my  ears  two  big  red  stones  of  the  ruby  kind  were 
placed;  and  always  as  I  walked  a  great  silk  um 
brella  was  over  my  head.  And  as  for  eating — 
humpf,  humpf,  humpf !  they  just  made  me  ill  with 
sweets  to  be  eaten  out  of  gold  dishes." 

"Is  this  a  true  tale,  O  Sa'-zada?"  queried  Black 


THE  WHITE-EARED  ELEPHANT    47 

Leopard.  "For  one  of  the  jungle  folk  it  is  a 
strange  happening." 

"It  is  true,"  replied  the  Keeper;  "that  was  the 
way  with  the  White  Elephant  at  the  Burma  King's 
court,  it  is  written  in  another  book  I  have  read." 

"And  no  one  was  allowed  to  ride  on  my  back 
but  the  King,"  declared  Hathi,  "excepting,  of 
course,  the  Mahout.  As  I  walked  I  was  afraid 
of  stepping  on  some  one;  the  Men-kind  were  for 
ever  flopping  down  on  their  knees  to  worship  me. 
It  was  this  way  for  years;  then  one  season  there 
came  war;  great  guns  spoke  with  a  roar  louder 
than  Bagh's;  and  vast  herds,  of  the  white-faced 
Men-kind  came,  letting  free  the  blood  of  the  yel 
low-faced  ones;  and  in  the  end  I  was  taken  away, 
and  sent  down  to  Rangoon,  and  put  to  work  in 
the  timber  yards.  There  was  no  worship,  and 
few  sweetmeats,  and  for  silk  covering  I  was  given 
a  harness  with  leather  collar  and  chain  traces.  It 
was  like  being  back  in  the  jungle  again — I  was  just 
a  common  Hathi,  only  I  was  called  there  Raj 
Singh. 

"It  was  at  that  time  I  met  the  Bull  who  was  a 
Rogue.  He  was  also  working  in  the  timber  yards, 
but  it  had  done  him  much  good — his  temper  was 
improved." 

"Was  it  kind  treatment  cured  him?"  asked  Sa'- 
zada. 

"No,"  replied  Hathi;  "they  whipped  him  into  a 
gentle  behavior.  Two  big  Bulls  with  heavy  iron 


48  THE  SA'-ZADA  TALES 

chains  swinging  from  their  trunks  thrashed  him 
until  he  promised  to  cease  making  trouble.  But 
one  day  he  broke  out  bad,  and  smashed  everything 
—tore  the  Master's  dogcart  to  pieces,  knocked  the 
Cooly's  haudas  down,  and  trumpeted  like  an  evil 
jungle  spirit.  He  even  killed  his  Mahout,  which 
was  a  silly  thing,  though  he  declared  his  driver,  the 
Mahout,  sitting  up  on  his  back,  one  foot  on  either 
side,  had  prodded  viciously  at  his  head  until  poor 
Rogue's  blood  was  on  fire. 

"But  in  the  end  they  sent  me  away  to  Sa'-zada, 
and  I  am  quite  content"  ;  and  reaching  his  big  trunk 
over  to  the  Keeper,  Hathi  caressed  the  latter's 
cheek  lovingly. 

"Oh,  we  are  all  content,"  declared  Magh;  "for 
Sa'-zada  is  a  kind  and  gentle  Master." 

"Now,  all  to  your  cages  and  your  pens,"  cried 
the  Keeper,  "for  it  is  late.  To-morrow  night,  per 
haps,  we  shall  have  the  tale  of  Gidar,  the  Jackal." 


Third  Night 

The    Stories    of  Gidar,   the  Jackal, 
and    Coyote,   the    Prairie   Wolf 


} 


THIRD  NIGHT 

THE  STORIES  OF  GIDAR,  THE  JACKAL,  AND  COYOTE, 
THE  PRAIRIE  WOLF 

44nP°"NIGHT'"  co"mmenced  Sa'-zada,  "we 
are  to  have  the  interesting  life  story  of 
the  two  half-brothers,  Gidar  and  Coyote." 

"A  thief's  tale  of  a  certainty,"  chuckled  Magh. 

"In  my  land,  which  was  Burma,  there  were  none 
so  useful  as  we,"  began  Gidar.  "Not  of  high  re 
pute  our  mission,  perhaps,  but  still  useful,  being 
scavengers ;  and  to  this  end  we  are  all  born  with  a 
fair  appetite ;  but  useful  always,  even  Bagh  knows 
that.  I  was  Lieutenant  to  one  of  his  kind — a  great 
killer  he  was — for  a  matter  of  two  years.  Then 
he  came  by  way  of  a  dispute  with  the  Men-kind, 
and  they  finished  him  in  short  order. 

"Now,  you  know,  Brothers,  our  kind  have  stead 
ily  worked  southward  from  India,  pushing  into  new 
lands  from  all  time,  even  like  the  Sahibs,  until  we 
are  now  half  down  through  Burma.  It  must  be  a 
dull  land  that  has  not  our  sweet  song  at  night.  If 
there  were  but  a  Pack  here  now  we'd  sing  you  a 
rare  chorus." 


5  2  THE  SA'-ZADA  TALES 

"I've  heard  the  song,"  quoth  Bagh;  "it's 
wretched." 

"How  goes  it?"  asked  Wolf.  "Our  Pack  has 
a  cry  of  great  strength;  the  'bells  of  the  forest,' 
the  Red-men  call  it." 

"It's  somewhat  this  way,"  said  Jackal,  and  sit 
ting  on  his  haunches  he  raised  his  long,  sharp 
nozzle  high  in  air,  stretching  his  lean  throat  toward 
the  moon  that  glinted  fretfully  through  the  sway 
ing  trees;  and  on  the  still,  quiet  night  air  floated 
his  cry  of  far-off  India : 

'  lOo-oo-oo-oo-oo-o-o-o-o-o! 
I  smell  a  dead  Hindoo-oof 

"That  would  be  my  cry,  Brothers.  Then  from 
all  quarters  of  the  jungle  the  Pack  would  take  up 
the  song  and  sing  back: 

'  '  Where,   where,  where,  where,  where,  where?' 
"And  I  would  answer  back  cheerily: 

'  'Here,  here,  here,  here,  here,  here!' 

"Then  all  together  we  would  sing  with  all  our 
lungs : 

'  'Oo-oo-oo-o-o-o-o-h 
Mussulman  or  Hind-oo? 
Here,  there,  or  anywhere, 
All  flesh  is  flesh,  we  do  not  care'  " 


53 

"A  charming  song,"  sneered  Magh. 

"Ah,  I  cannot  give  it  right;  you  should  have 
heard  it,  little  Eater-of-sour-fruit,  in  the  dead  close 
ness  of  a  Burman  jungle,  from  the  many  throats 
of  a  hungry  Pack. 

"The  people  of  that  land  liked  the  song  full  well, 
and  they  never  molested  us.  But  life  was  one  con 
tinuous  struggle  for  food.  We  were  not  slayers 
like  Chita,  or  Bagh,  or  Python;  or  stealers  of  crops 
like  Boar  and  Rogue  Hathi;  almost  as  simple  in 
our  way  of  life  as  Mooswa. 

"I  remember  once  a  fat  Dog-pup  of  the  Terrier 
kind,  which  I  bagged.  It  was  all  the  fault  of  the 
Pup's  master;  he  tried  to  kill  me." 

"You  had  probably  been  singing  to  him,"  said 
Sa'-zada. 

"We  had,  I  admit,"  answered  Jackal.  "It  was 
on  Borongo  Island;  two  men,  Sahibs  they  were 
called  there,  you  know,  lived  in  a  bungalow  built 
on  high  posts,  after  the  manner  of  all  houses  in  that 
land.  The  bungalow  was  built  on  the  shore,  and 
every  day  the  water  came  up  under  it,  and  then 
went  back  again.  This  was  a  most  wise  arrange 
ment  of  the  water's  traveling,  for  it  threw  up 
many  a  dead  Fish  and  Crab  for  our  eating. 

"Well  I  remember  the  cook-house  was  a  little 
to  one  side  from  the  bungalow,  with  a  poor,  ill- 
conditioned  bamboo  door  to  it.  Regularly,  doing 
our  scavenger  work,  we  used  to  clean  up  that  cook 
house,  eating  everything  the  servant-kind  had  not 


54  THE  SA'-ZADA  TALES 

devoured.  Several  times  I  made  a  great  find  in 
that  very  place,  for  the  cook,  it  appears,  was  a  most 
forgetful  fellow.  When  there  was  nothing  left  for 
us  in  the  way  of  food,  we'd  carry  off  the  pots  and 
pans  into  the  jungle  grass ;  why,  I  hardly  know,  but 
it  seemed  proper  to  do  so. 

"Neither  do  I  know  which  of  the  Pack  first 
started  singing  under  the  bungalow;  but  this  also 
afforded  us  much  content.  Many  hours  on  in  the 
dark  we'd  all  steal  gently  down  from  the  jungle, 
and  gather  under  the  house.  Then,  as  one,  we'd 
give  voice  to  the  hunger  cry  together,  until  even 
the  Sahibs  would  shout  in  fear.  It  was  good  to 
make  the  Men-kind  afraid;  but  also  we  would  flee 
swiftly,  for  the  two  Sahibs  would  rush  out  like 
a  jackal  that  had  suddenly  become  possessed  of 
much  poisoned  meat,  and  'bang,  bang,  bang'  with 
the  guns. 

"I  had  much  to  do  with  Men,  and  just  when  I 
thought  they  were  full  cross  because  of  our  sere 
nade,  what  was  my  surprise  to  find  each  evening  a 
full  measure  of  rice  put  in  a  certain  place  for  me. 
'It  is  full  of  the  datura'  (poison),  I  thought,  and 
watched  while  a  lean  Pariah  Dog  from  the  village 
ate  it.  But  there  was  nothing  wrong  with  it.  So 
the  next  evening  I  made  haste  to  get  a  full  share  of 
it  myself.  As  I  ate,  hurriedly  I  must  say,  twang-g ! 
came  a  mighty  Boar-spear. 

"But  only  the  shaft  of  it  struck  my  back,  so  I 
made  off  with  great  diligence.  I  heard  the  Sahib 


THE  PRAIRIE  WOLF  55 

say  as  he  picked  up  the  spear,  'Missed  him,  by 
Jove !'  You  see,  he  had  been  hiding  in  a  corner  of 
the  bungalow.  But  I  was  hungry,  and  the  rice  was 
good — most  delicious — so  I  crept  back  with  two 
comrades,  and  keeping  to  the  thick  grass,  stalked 
the  bungalow  most  carefully.  I  saw  the  Sahibs  all 
at  their  eating,  for  the  door  was  open,  it  being 
hot;  you  see,  he  thought  I  wouldn't  come  back  so 
soon. 

'  'I  will  eat  with  you,'  I  said,  and  made  straight 
for  the  rice ;  but  it  was  nearly  all  gone ;  the  Terrier 
Pup  of  which  I  have  spoken,  and  which  belonged 
to  this  very  Sahib  who  had  thrown  the  spear,  was 
just  finishing  his  Master's  bait. 

"  'Oh,  you  wicked  Dog!'  I  said,  'to  steal  my  sup 
per  this  way,'  and  knowing  that  his  master  was  in 
the  habit  of  throwing  spears  at  that  very  spot,  I 
picked  him  up  and  carried  him  to  the  jungle  for 
safety. 

"  'Oh,  oh  E-u-u-h!'  how  he  squealed,  and  the 
Men-kind  left  their  eating,  and  came  rushing  after 
us  with  much  shouting,  but  it  was  dark  and  they 
had  no  chance  of  catching  us." 

"And  you  ate  the  poor  little  fellow?"  asked 
Mooswa. 

"Horrible  !"  cried  Magh,  "to  eat  a  Dog." 

"Not  at  all  bad  stuffed  with  rice,  I  assure  you," 
declared  Gidar.  "For  a  day  or  two  I  kept  more  or 
less  out  of  the  way;  I  was  afraid  the  Sahibs  might 
be  very  angry. 


56  THE  SA'-ZADA  TALES 

"It  was  two  nights  after  this  I  discovered  more 
rice  some  distance  from  the  bungalow  in  a  pail 
which  was  sunk  in  the  ground,  and  over  this  stood 
a  couple  of  posts  that  had  not  been  there  before. 
I  remembered  that,  so  I  sat  by  quietly  watching 
this  new  thing,  and  trying  to  decide  what  it  might 
be. 

"Now  the  Sahibs  had  two  pigs,  and  as  I  watched, 
along  came  these  two,  grunting,  and  shoving  things 
about  with  their  long  noses,  and  presently  one  of 
them  discovered  the  rice  in  the  pail. 

"  'Ugh,  ugh,  ugh!'  said  he,  'just  a  mouthful  of 
this  will  do  me  good.'  You  know,  of  course,  a  pig 
eats  first  and  thinks  after,  so  in  this  case  he  plunged 
his  big  head  in  the  pail,  and  'zip!  whang!'  went 
something,  and  before  I  could  jump  to  my  feet  he 
was  dangling  in  the  air  hung  by  the  neck;  he  didn't 
even  have  a  chance  to  squeal.  Of  course  his  mate 
took  to  his  heels  and  cleared  out,  while  I  finished 
the  rice,  knowing  the  evil  was  in  the  custody  of 
my  Squeaker  friend.  In  the  morning  the  Pig  was 
dead." 

"It's  a  fine  thief's  tale,"  commented  Magh,  "but 
in  the  end  they  caught  you  right  enough." 

"Not  there,"  corrected  Gidar;  "that  was  an 
other  place.  A  Sahib  who  had  come  to  the  jungle 
seeking  dwellers  for  such  places  as  this,  made  the 
taking;  but  with  him  one  might  as  well  be  caught 
first  as  last,  for  he  knew  more  of  our  ways  than  we 
knew  of  his.  Now  let  Coyote  speak;  I  am  tired." 


THE  PRAIRIE  WOLF  57 

"Does  Coyote  come  from  Burma,  too,  O  Sa'- 
zada?"  queried  Magh. 

"No,  he's  from  Mooswa's  country;  from  the 
great  plains  away  in  the  far  West.  There  is  not 
much  in  The  Book  about  Coyote;  that  is,  not  much 
that's  good." 

"I  knew  it,"  laughed  Magh;  "I've  watched  him 
there  in  his  cage  which  is  opposite  mine,  day  after 
day,  and  I  never  saw  a  smile  on  his  face." 

"You  should  be  put  in  the  cage  with  Hyena," 
declared  Coyote,  "if  you  think  an  animal  has  got  to 
grin  all  the  time  to  be  of  fair  nature.  Or  of  what 
use  are  you,  little  pot-belly,  or  the  whole  of  your 
tribe — Hanuman,  Hooluk,  or  Chimpanzee — none 
of  you  worth  the  nuts  you  eat;  and  yet  you're  al 
ways  grinning  and  chattering,  and  playing  fool 
tricks  about  the  cage.  You're  a  fine  one  to  judge 
your  fellow  creatures." 

"Coyote  just  sits  there  and  scratches  Fleas,  and 
growls,  and  snaps  at  his  mate — he's  a  low-born  sort 
of  Wolf,"  continued  Magh. 

"He's  not  of  our  kind,"  declared  Wolf;  "it's  all 
a  lie." 

"Never  mind,  never  mind,"  cried  Sa'-zada,  "no 
doubt  like  all  the  rest  of  us  he  has  his  good  and 
bad  qualities." 

"I  was  once  starving,"  resumed  Coyote.  "You 
who  have  lived  in  a  warm  land  where  something  is 
growing  all  the  year  round,  know  nothing  of  the 
hunger  that  comes  when  the  fierce  blizzard  blots 


5  8  THE  SA'-ZADA  TALES 

out  everything,  and  there  is  only  snow,  snow,  every 
where.  Can  one  eat  snow?  It's  all  very  fine  for 
you  with  a  paunch  full  of  candy  to  sit  there  and 
prate  about  stealing,  but  if  Wie-sak-ke-chack  puts 
the  hunger  pains  in  one's  stomach  and  the  fat 
bacon — Ghurr-h-h  !  but  the  juice  of  it  is  sweet  when 
one  is  near  dead — puts  the  fat  bacon  behind  log 
walls,  what  is  one  to  do,  eh?  Does  a  fellow  dig, 
dig,  dig  through  earth  so  hard  that  he  must  bite  it 
out  with  his  teeth,  dig  deep  under  the  log  walls  for 
sport  as  the  Cubs  play  in  the  sunshine,  or  just  to 
steal?  Bah,  you  who  have  never  known  hunger 
know  not  of  this  thing.  Why,  once  when  the 
ground  was  frozen  hard,  and  I  was  dying  inch  by 
inch,  some  fierce-toothed  Animal  inside  me  biting, 
biting — only  of  course  it  was  the  hunger  chewing 
at  my  stomach — I  dove  fair  through  the  window 
of  a  log  shack  to  get  at  the  meat  inside.  The  glass 
cut  me,  to  be  sure,  but  that  was  nothing  to  the 
hunger  pain  that  goes  on,  on,  never  ceasing  until 
there  is  food,  or  one  is  dead. 

"I  saved  a  man's  life  once  at  a  post  called  Stand- 
Off.  The  place  came  by  its  name  in  the  days  of  a 
mighty  fight  when  my  Man  and  his  comrades  stood 
off  the  Mounted  Police.  These  Men  had  been 
given  as  bad  a  name  as  Coyotes  even.  My  Man 
may  have  been  bad,  too;  but  how  was  I  to  know, 
being  only  a  Coyote?  He  was  always  throwing  me 
bones  and  pieces  of  bread,  and  whistling  to  me,  and 
calling  me  Jack. 


THE  PRAIRIE  WOLF  59 

"Now  this  place  Stand-Off  was  on  the  river  flat, 
and  one  night  in  spring-time  I  heard  a  great  flood 
coming  down  the  Belly  River.  It  was  a  still  night, 
and  the  noise  of  the  rushing  water  came  to  my 
ears  for  miles,  but  the  Men  heard  it  not,  for  they 
were  all  in  the  Shacks.  Fast  I  galloped  down  over 
the  flat  near  to  the  Shack  where  was  this  Man  who 
had  often  thrown  me  a  bone.  I  whimpered,  and 
whistled,  and  barked  the  danger  call,  and  howled 
the  death-coming  song,  and  finally  my  friend  came 
to  the  door  and  threw  a  stick  of  wood  at  me.  and 
spoke  fierce  oaths.  Then  he  shut  the  door.  I 
could  hear  the  roaring  getting  louder  and  louder, 
and  knew  that  soon  it  would  be  too  late  for  all  the 
Men-kind;  not  that  I  cared,  except  for  this  one. 
On  one  side  of  the  town  was  the  swift-running 
Belly  River,  and  beyond  a  high-cut  bank;  on  my 
side  was  the  flat  land  that  would  soon  be  many  feet 
deep  with  ice  and  rushing  water.  So  I  howled 
louder  than  ever,  and  he  came  out  and  strove  to 
kill  me  with  a  Firestick,  but  I  only  ran  a  little  piece 
into  the  darkness,  and  howled  again. 

"Being  a  Man  of  much  temper  he  chased  me, 
and  the  noise  brought  out  the  others,  for  they 
thought  it  was  Indians.  I  sought  to  lead  him  over 
to  the  side  of  the  flat  land  which  was  next  the 
sloping  hill,  knowing  full  well  that  the  new  water 
would  flow  there  first. 

"All  at  once  he  ceased  running  behind  me,  and 
I,  who  was  listening,  knew  that  he  scarce  breathed 


6o  THE  SA'-ZADA  TALES 

he  was  that  still.  Now,  he  will  hear  it,  I  thought; 
and  in  an  instant  I  heard  him  cry  to  the  others : 
'Boys,  we  must  pull  out  from  this — there's  a  devil 
of  a  freshet  coming.'  That  was  the  way  of  the 
Men  from  Stand-Off;  many  strange  words  of  a 
useless  need. 

"I  tell  you,  Comrades, itwas  soon  an  awful  night; 
here  and  there  the  Men  ran  trying  to  save  some 
thing — their  Horses  and  guns  for  most  part,  even 
some  of  the  evil  firewater;  and  the  strong  swear 
ings  they  used  sounded  but  just  as  the  whimpering 
of  Wolf  Pups,  the  wind  was  that  fierce,  carrying 
the  dreadful  roar  of  the  Chinook  flood. 

"You  who  have  heard  Bagh  and  Hathi  scolding 
at  each  other,  with  perhaps  Black  Panther  and 
Bald  Eagle  taking  part,  may  know  somewhat  the 
like  of  that  night's  noises. 

"Seeing  that  my  Man  was  coming  riding  swiftly 
on  his  Cayuse,  I,  too,  ran  quickly  for  the  upland; 
but,  as  I  have  said,  just  in  the  hollow  which  was 
there,  being  the  trail  where  once  had  run  the  river, 
the  flood  was  rushing  even  as  I  have  seen  it  in  the 
foot-hills — the  flat  land  was  surrounded. 

"As  the  Men  galloped  up  they  stopped,  and 
spoke  evil  words  at  the  flood,  rushing  up  and  down 
looking  for  a  ford.  I  also  was  afraid  to  cross. 

"Suddenly  I  thought  me  of  a  place  I  knew  well 
lower  down,  wondrous  like  a  Beaver  dam,  though 
I  think  there  had  been  no  Beavers  in  the  land  since 
Chief  Mountain  was  a  hole  in  the  ground.  I 


'j  FIEARD  MY  MAN  SAY     .      .      .      'STRIKE  ME  DEAD  IE  TIE  HASN'T     .      . 


THE  PRAIRIE  WOLF  61 

barked,  to  call  my  Man  friend,  and  ran  toward 
this  spot. 

'There  goes  that  locoed  Coyote,'  I  heard  him 
say;  'he's  trailing  for  a  crossing;  damned  if  I  don't 
follow  him.  Come  on,  you  fellows,'  and  after  me 
they  galloped  like  madmen. 

"Just  below  the  place  that  was  like  a  dam  the 
water  was  not  too  bad,  for  the  ice  had  jammed  up 
above,  and  it  was  spreading  out  all  over  the  flat. 
I  plunged  in,  for,  Comrades,  it  was  a  time  of  great 
hurry.  Swimming  a  river  is  not  of  my  liking — 
none  of  my  kind  like  it — but  this  seemed  an  evil 
night  altogether,  with  no  choice  but  to  reach  the 
uplands. 

"  'Sure  thing !  the  Coyote's  dead  to  rights  on  this 
outfit,'  I  heard  my  Man  say;  and  wallow,  wallow, 
in  the  bronchos  came,  splashing  and  snorting.  And 
so  we  crossed  just  as  the  ice  broke  in  the  jam,  and 
swept  down  like  the  swift  rolling  of  many  stones. 
I  heard  my  Man  say  as  they  all  got  down  from  the 
horses  to  empty  the  water  out  of  their  long  boots, 
'If  I  ever  clap  peeps  on  to  that  Coyo  again, 
I'll  shove  grub  pile  into  him  till  he  busts.  Strike 
me  dead  if  he  hasn't  saved  the  whole  outfit  of 
us.' 

"Anyway  I  knew  there  would  be  much  feeding 
and  no  harm  if  I  kept  close  to  these  evil  Men-kind, 
for  they  were  great  givers. 

"I  sought  to  save  the  one  man,  and  if  there  be 
any  credit  it  comes  to  me  because  of  that;  the 


62  THE  SA'-ZADA  TALES 

others  followed  him,  and  even  they  said  he  had 
saved  them." 

"I  think  it  is  a  true  tale,"  declared  Mooswa,  "for 
I  once  had  a  happening  in  saving  the  life  of  a  Boy 
who  had  been  good  to  me." 

"What  happened  to  the  Men's  place,  Dog- 
Wolf?"  queried  Sa'-zada. 

"In  the  morning  there  was  nothing — nothing  but 
great  pieces  of 'ice  all  over  the  flat.  Then  the  Men 
trailed  for  a  place  called  Slideout,  where  were  more 
evil  men  of  the  firewater  way  of  life,  and  I  fol 
lowed,  arranging  it  so  that  my  Man  saw  me,  and 
that  day  when  he  killed  an  Antelope,  he  left  a 
sweet  piece  of  the  eating  for  me;  and  I  might  have 
lived  all  my  life  close  to  their  camp  in  great  fatness, 
but  for  the  evil  chance  that  drew  the  Men-kind 
close  to  a  place  called  MacLeod.  And  it  was  there, 
being  pursued  by  ferocious  yellow-haired  Dogs,  I 
hid  in  a  Hen-house  and  was  caught.  At  first  they 
were  for  killing  me,  but  there  happened  a  Man-Pup 
of  that  house  who  cried  for  me  as  his  Doggie,  and 
later  came  one  of  the  Men-kind,  gave  blankets  in 
exchange  for  me,  and  I  was  sent  here  to  the  place 
where  is  Sa'-zada." 

"He  is  either  a  great  liar,  or  not  so  bad  as  is 
written  in  The  Book,"  commented  Sher  Abi,  the 
Crocodile;  "but  in  my  land  where  was  his  Brother, 
the  Jackal,  I  never  heard  good  of  his  kind." 

"I  am  sure  it  is  a  true  tale,"  declared  Sa'-zada; 
"Coyote  could  not  have  made  it  up." 


Fourth  Night 

The   Story   of  Raj    Bagh,  the   King 
Tiger 


THE  STORY  OF  RAJ  BAGH,  THE  KING  TIGER 

WHILE  the  Keeper  Sa'-zada  was  still  loiter 
ing  over  his  tea,  there  came  to  his  ears  an 
imperious  roaring  call  "Wah-h-h  !  Wah-h-h  !  Wah- 
houh!" 

"This  is  the  Tiger's  night,  indeed,"  he  muttered 
to  himself.  "Old  Raj  Bagh  is  eager  to  tell  us  the 
tale  of  his  life."  Then  he  hurried  down  to  their 
cages  and  corrals  saying,  "Come,  comrades;  the 
King  of  the  Jungle  calls  us." 

"We  shall  have  strong  tales  of  blood-letting  to 
night,"  muttered  Magh  the  Orang-Outang. 

"King  of  the  Jungle,  indeed!"  sneered 
Hathi,  the  Elephant.  "When  I  was  Lord  of 
the  jungle  I  knew  no  king — that  is,  amongst  the 
animals." 

"Now,"  began  Sa'-zada,  opening  The  Book, 
when  the  Jungle  Dwellers  had  all  gathered  in  front 
of  Bagh,  the  killer's  cage;  "now  we  shall  know  all 
about  Huzoor  Stripes.  And  mind  you,  Hathi,  and 
all  the  rest,  there  must  be  no  anger,  for  Bagh's  way 
of  life  has  not  been  of  his  own  making;  for  with 

65 


66  THE  SA'-ZADA  TALES 

his  kind  it  is  their  nature  to  kill  that  which  they 
eat." 

"I  was  born  in  Chittagong,"  began  Bagh,  "and 
well  I  remember  the  little  Nullah  in  which  my 
Mother  kept  me,  a  big  tea  garden  spread  over 
three  hills  just  near  our  hiding  place,  and  there  was 
always  much  good  eating. 

"For  months  after  I  was  born  my  Mother  made 
me  hide  in  the  Nullah.  That  was  always  in  the 
evening.  And  as  for  hiding,  how  anyone  can  get 
along  without  stripes  in  his  coat  I  can't  understand. 
Let  me  hide  in  a  grass  field  where  the  sun  throws 
sharp  shadows  up  and  down  across  everything  and 
I'll  give  my  ration  of  meat  for  the  week  to  anyone 
who  can  see  me  three  lengths  of  my  tail  away." 

"Where  was  your  Mother  all  this  time  ?"  queried 
Magh,  tauntingly. 

"To  be  sure,"  answered  Bagh,  "she  would  be 
away  for  hours  making  the  kill,  and  when  she  came 
back  would  lick  my  face,  and  teach  me  the  sweet 
smell  of  new  meat  and  hot  blood.  Then  the  next 
evening,  just  as  it  was  getting  dark,  she  would  take 
me  with  her  to  the  kill,  which  was  usually  a  Cow, 
and  which  she  had  very  cunningly  hidden  in  ele 
phant  grass,  or  a  bamboo  clump,  or  some  little 
Nullah.  There  would  be  still  half  of  it  left.  I 
grew  big  and  strong,  and  longed  to  make  a  kill  on 
my  own  account. 

"But  that  year  a  terrible  thing  happened  to  the 
Buffaloes  and  Cows  upon  which  we  depended  for 


THE  KING  TIGER  67 

food.  They  were  all  down  in  the  Flat  Lands, 
which  is  close  by  the  sea,  and  one  day  when  the 
jungle  was  much  torn  by  strong,  fierce  winds,  a 
great  water  came  over  the  land,  and  ate  up  all  the 
Cattle,  and  many  of  the  Men-kind.  Then,  indeed, 
we  fairly  starved,  for  the  few  that  were  left  were 
kept  close  to  the  bamboo  houses  of  the  villagers. 
Night  after  night,  even  in  the  day-time,  my  Mother 
and  I  sought  for  the  chances  of  a  kill,  for  I  had 
grown  big  at  that  time,  and  she  took  me  with  her. 
We  were  really  starving;  perhaps  a  small  Chital 
(deer) ,  or  a  Dog,  or  something  came  our  way  once 
in  a  while,  but  the  pain  in  my  stomach  was  so  great 
that  I  moaned,  and  moaned,  and  I  believe  it  was 
because  of  me  that  my  Mother  became  a  Man- 
killer." 

"Horrible!"  exclaimed  Mooswa.  "Became  a 
killer  of  the  Men-kind?  Dreadful!" 

"I,  too,  have  killed  Men,"  asserted  Raj  Bagh; 
"and  why  is  it  so  evil,  my  big-nosed  eater-of-grass? 
Your  food  is  the  leaves  of  the  jungle,  and  you  have 
it  with  you  always.  When  you  are  hungry  you 
walk,  walk,  and  soon  you  come  to  where  there  is 
much  food,  and  you  eat,  and  with  you  that  is  all 
right — there  is  no  evil  in  it.  As  Sa'-zada  has  said, 
it  is  our  way  of  life  to  kill  our  eating.  When  there 
is  no  Chital  we  kill  Sambhur;  when  there  are  no 
Deer  we  kill  Pigs,  or  even  Buffalo;  when  there  is 
nothing  but  Man,  and  we  are  changed  from  our 
usual  way  of  kill  by  great  hunger,  we  slay  Man. 


68  THE  SA'-ZADA  TALES 

With  all  Dwellers  of  the  Jungle,  there  is  fear  of 
the  Men-kind,  that  is  all,  nothing  but  fear;  and 
when  once  that  is  broken  we  kill  the  Men-kind 
even  as  any  other  Jungle  Dweller." 

"Little  Brother,"  began  Sa'-zada,  "it  is  spoken 
amongst  my  Kind,  that  a  Man-killer  is  always  an 
old,  broken-toothed  Tiger,  full-manged,  and  of 
evil  wrays ;  and  that  once  having  tasted  human  flesh 
he  becomes  a  killer  of  nothing  else." 

"Ha-hauk!"  laughed  Bagh,  "those  be  silly 
Jungle  tales.  Am  I  broken-toothed,  or  full  of  a 
mange,  or  is  Raj  Bagh?  All  a  lie,  Little  Master, 
all  a  lie.  It  is  but  a  chance  of  the  Jungle  that 
makes  a  Man-killer,  even  as  I  will  tell,  and  the 
taste  of  the  flesh  is  not  more  than  the  taste  of  meat. 

"Yes,"  he  continued,  "I  was  with  my  Mother 
that  day,  the  first  day  of  the  Man-kill,  and  in  my 
stomach  was  a  great  pain  like  the  biting  of  Red 
Ants.  It  was  near  the  coming  of  night,  and  we 
crept  down  into  the  tea  garden  where  there  were 
many  of  the  coolie  kind  working  amongst  the 
bushes.  I  think  my  Mother  was  looking  for  a  stray 
dog,  or  perhaps  a  small  Bullock;  but  the  coolies 
seeing  us  cried  aloud  in  their  fright,  'Bagh  hai !' 
and  ran.  I  think  it  was  this  that  made  my  Mother 
charge  suddenly  amongst  them,  for  if  they  had 
stood  and  looked  at  us  I'm  sure  we  should  have 
turned  and  gone  away;  but  in  the  charge  a  Man 
fell.  Baghni  seized  him  by  the  neck,  threw  him 
on  her  back,  and  we  both  galloped  into  the  jungle. 


THE  KING  TIGER  69 

After  that,  whenever  we  were  hungry  we  went  back 
to  the  tea  garden  in  just  the  same  way. 

"But  one  day  a  coolie  saw  us  first  and  ran  to  his 
master's  bungalow  crying  with  much  fear.  Neither 
of  us  thought  anything  of  that,  for  it  was  as  they 
had  done  before;  so  we  went  on  down  in  the  little 
Nullah  between  the  hills,  looking  sharply  for  others 
of  the  Black  Workers.  Suddenly  I  heard  a  noise 
as  of  something  approaching. 

'  'Keep  still,  O  Baghela,'  said  Baghni,  'here 
cometh  one  of  the  Men-kind,  and  I  will  make  a 
kill." 

"As  we  waited,  presently  there  was  no  sound. 
'The  kill  has  gone  away,'  I  whispered  to  Baghni, 
but  she  struck  me  hard  with  her  tail,  almost  knock 
ing  some  of  my  teeth  out;  that  was  to  keep  still. 
There  was  not  even  any  scent  of  the  Men-kind  in 
the  wind  now;  most  surely  he  had  gone  away,  I 
thought.  What  a  silly  old  Baghni  my  Mother 
must  be. 

"I  heard  a  soft  whistle  behind  me,  'Sp-e-e-tP 
just  like  that,  much  as  you've  heard  Hawk  in  his 
cage  call.  When  I  looked  around  there  was  one  of 
the  White-face,  even  the  Sahib  of  the  tea  garden. 
I  knew  him,  for  I  had  seen  him  once  before.  In 
his  hand  he  held  what  I  have  since  learned  was  a 
thunder-stick.  I  looked  in  his  eyes  for  perhaps 
three  lashes  of  my  tail,  but  I  could  see  there  nothing 
of  the  Man-fear  Hathi  has  told  us  of.  Such  eyes  I 
have  never  seen  in  any  animal's  head;  not  yellow 


70  THE  SA'-ZADA  TALES 

like  those  of  my  kind,  nor  red  and  black  like 
Hathi's,  nor  even  dull  brown  like  Korite  the  kill 
er's;  just  of  a  quiet  color  like  a  tiny  bit  of  the  sky 
coming  between  the  leaves  of  the  forest. 

"What  was  he  waiting  for,  I  thought.  Baghni 
had  not  heard  him,  for  she  did  not  turn  her  head. 
Then  he  made  the  call  like  Hawk's  again,  and 
Baghni  turned  her  head  even  as  I  had,  and  looked 
full  at  him,  but  he  did  not  run  away. 

"Now  feeling  something  lifted  from  me,  because 
his  eyes  were  on  Baghni,  I  think,  I  looked  again 
sideways  from  the  corner  of  my  eye.  Baghni  had 
set  her  ears  tight  back,  and  drawn  her  lip  up  in  a 
cross  snarl,  so  that  her  teeth,  almost  the  length  of 
Boar's  tusks,  said  as  plain  as  could  be,  'Now  I  will 
crush  your  back.'  But  still  in  his  eyes  that  were 
like  bits  of  sky  was  not  the  Man-fear;  if  I  had  seen 
it  there  most  surely  I  had  charged  straight  at  his 
throat,  for  I  was  angry,  and  still,  I  think,  filled  with 
much  fear. 

"Then  Baghni  turned  around,  crouched  with  her 
head  low,  looking  straight  at  him.  As  she  did  so, 
the  Sahib  raised  his  thunder-stick,  there  was  an 
awful  noise  from  it,  I  heard  Baghni  scream  'Gur- 
houk!'  and  she  had  charged.  I,  too,  followed  her, 
thinking  she  had  got  this  Man  who  was  our  kill; 
but  just  beyond  in  the  Nullah,  even  the  length  of 
Bainsa's  corral  from  here,  I  saw  her  on  her  side 
tearing  up  the  tea  bushes  with  her  great  paws.  I 
stopped  for  the  length  of  two  breaths,  but  I  could 


THE  KING  TIGER  71 

see  that  there  was  something  very  wrong — she  was 
going  to  sleep.  Then  the  greatest  fear  that  I  have 
ever  known  came  over  me,  and  I  galloped  fast  into 
the  jungle  to  where  was  my  hiding-place." 

"They  had  killed  your  Mother,  had  they, 
Bagh?"  asked  Mooswa. 

"I  think  so,  for  I  never  saw  her  again.  I  was 
afraid  to  go  back  where  the  men  labored,  and,  as 
I  had  said,  there  were  no  Bullocks,  and  I  nearly 
starved  to  death." 

"But  how  did  they  catch  you?"  queried  Magh. 

"It  was  all  because  of  my  hunger.  When  I  was 
not  stronger  than  a  jungle  Bakri  (sheep),  not 
having  eaten  for  days  and  days,  I  heard  one  night 
a  Pariah  Dog  howling  in  the  jungle.  It  took  me 
hours  to  know  that  there  was  no  danger  near  this 
crying  one  of  the  Dog-kind.  I  went  round  and 
round  in  circles  that  I  had  made  smaller  each  time, 
and  drew  the  wind  from  all  sides  into  my  nose  to 
see  if  there  was  the  Man  scent.  There  was  noth 
ing  but  the  Pariah,  and  by  some  means  he  had  got 
into  a  hole.  Of  course,  afterwards  I  knew  it  was 
the  evil  work  of  this  Sahib  who  had  killed  Baghni. 
Such  a  hole  the  Pariah  was  in,  it  was  as  long  as 
these  two  cages,  and  though  wide  at  the  bottom, 
it  was  small  at  the  top,  even  like  the  cover  of 
Magh's  house  yonder.  I  crawled  in  and  caught 
the  Dog  in  my  strong  jaws.  Sweet  flesh!  how  he 
howled  when  he  knew  I  was  coming. 

"Then  with  a  crash  something  fell  behind  me, 


72  THE  SA'-ZADA  TALES 

and  closed  the  hole  so  I  could  not  get  out,  and  at 
once  I  heard  them  shouting." 

"Where  had  they  come  from  so  soon?"  queried 
Magh. 

"They  were  up  in  the  jungle  trees,"  answered 
Bagh. 

"I  think  it  is  a  fine  lie,"  grunted  Boar.  "Do  you 
mean  to  say,  Bagh,  that  you  could  not  see  them 
in  the  trees?" 

"You  have  little  knowledge  of  my  kind,  Piggy. 
Know  you  not  that  when  going  through  the  jungle 
we  never  look  up?" 

"I  do,"  interrupted  Raj  Bagh,  "but  I  learned  the 
trick.  Brother  Bagh  is  right,  though;  I  suppose 
it  comes  from  always  looking  for  our  kill  on  the 
ground,  and  I  have  heard  that  this  is  why  the 
Hunters  so  often  kill  us  from  Machans  (shooting 
rest  in  a  tree) .  We  never  see  them  until  we  are 
struck." 

"The  Men  were  all  about  the  hole,"  continued 
Bagh,  "and  it  was  he  of  the  white  face  that  cried, 
'Don't  kill  him,  don't  stick  him  with  the  spears ! 
He  is  only  a  Baghela,  and  we  will  take  him  alive 
for  Sa'-zada.' 

"They  dug  little  holes  from  the  top,  and  bound 
me  with  strong  ropes;  it  was  so  narrow  I  couldn't 
turn  round,  you  see.  Then  I  was  sent  here  to 
Sa'-zada.  Though  he  is  good  to  me,  still  I  wish 
I  was  back  in  my  old  jungle." 

"Ah-h-houk!     Great     Brothers,"     roared     Raj 


THE  KING  TIGER  73 

Bagh.  "My  mate  has  told  you  of  Chittagong  and 
his  tea  gardens,  but  the  middle  jungles  in  India  is 
the  place  for  a  Tiger  to  rule ;  and  for  years  I  was 
Lord  of  the  Sumna  Forests,  and  the  terror  of  the 
Gonds,  the  little  black-faced  Men  who  are  won 
drous  Shikaris.  Close  grass.  Waw-hough!  but  it 
was  beautiful  there.  The  many  red  faces  of  the 
chewal  tree  smiled  at  me,  and  the  purple  ears  of 
the  sal  tree  listened  to  my  roar  till  its  great  branches 
trembled  in  fear.  Close  hid  in  the  Khagar  grass 
I  would  lie  and  sleep  all  through  the  long  hot  day, 
and  the  little  Gonds,  even  the  big,  white-faced 
Men,  might  pass  the  length  of  this  cage  from  me, 
and  not  know  that  I  was  there.  But  I  would  know. 
Talking,  talking  always  they  would  go,  and  if  they 
were  up  wind,  my  nose  would  find  them  many 
jumps  away. 

"I  was  born  there,  and  Baghni,  my  Mother,  and 
Sher  Bagh,  my  Sire,  taught  me  all  that  a  Tiger 
should  know  of  the  ways  of  the  Men-kind.  But  in 
the  end  both  of  them  came  to  their  death  through 
the  evil  ways  of  these  seekers  for  our  lives.  Wah, 
wah,  wah-hough!  I  am  a  Man-killer.  And  why 
not?" 

"You  should  be  ashamed  to  say  so,"  cried  Magh, 
petulantly,  "and  before  Sa'-zada,  too." 

"Wah!  I  was  a  Man-killer,"  repeated  Raj 
Bagh,  "a  killer  of  many  Men,  but  it  was  not  my 
fault.  When  I  was  a  cub  my  Sire  was  Lord  of  the 
Sumna  Jungles ;  and  close  to  our  lair  was  a  jhll  to 


74  THE  SA'-ZADA  TALES 

which  all  animals  of  those  parts  came  to  drink  when 
they  were  hot,  and  the  hills  blazed  red  with  the 
evil  fire  of  the  little  Gonds.  Chetal,  and  Nilgai, 
and  Sambhur,  and  the  Ribbed-Faced  Deer  that 
coughed  like  a  Wild  Dog;  even  Chinkara,  the  little 
Gazelle  that  is  but  a  mouthful  for  one  of  my  needs 
— all  came  there  when  the  forest  grew  dark;  and 
always  when  we  were  hungry,  which  was  often, 
more  came  than  went  away.  It  was  ever  the  same 
with  Sher  Bagh,  who  was  my  Sire,  and  Baghni,  al 
ways  the  same  way  in  a  kill  with  them.  In  those 
days  I  watched  it  often,  for  I,  being  a  Bagheela, 
took  no  part  except  in  the  eating.  Chita  walks  not 
softer  in  his  cage  than  Sher  Bagh  would  step 
through  the  jungle  when  he  was  stalking  a  kill; 
and  then  at  the  end  with  a  rush  it  was  all  over. 

"But  one  year  it  became  so  hot — why,  the  rocks 
burned  our  pads  as  we  walked;  so  hot  that  our  jhil 
dried  up,  and  none  of  the  Jungle  Dwellers  came  to 
drink.  It  was  hot,  so  hot,  and  never  a  drop  of  the 
sweet  water  falling.  The  fire  crept  down  from 
the  hills  and  ate  up  the  small  part  of  the  jungle 
and  the  grass,  and  I  think  the  Jungle  Dwellers  went 
to  other  parts.  At  any  rate,  as  Brother  Bagh  has 
said,  we  were  sore  distressed  for  a  kill.  Of  course, 
we  could  go  and  drink  \vhere  the  other  Dwellers 
dared  not,  close  to  the  villages  of  the  little  Gonds. 
I  remember,  being  but  a  Baghela  and  having  little 
wisdom,  saying  to  Baghni,  'Why  do  we  not  kill 
Goru  (cattle)  and  Bainsa,  who  are  here  in  the 


THE  KING  TIGER  75 

hands  of  the  Men-kind?'  But  Sher  Bagh,  who  had 
lived  into  much  wisdom,  growled,  and  striking  me 
hard  with  his  paw,  said,  'Little  one,  that  way  comes 
the  full  hate  of  the  Men-kind,  and  we  who  fear  not 
the  Dwellers  in  the  Jungle,  fear  Man.' 

"But  still  we  became  more  hungry,  and  Baghni, 
whose  milk  was  my  only  food,  grew  unwise  and 
said,  'Let  us  kill  the  Goru.'  But  Sher  Bagh 
growled  at  her,  and  said  again,  'That  way  comes 
the  hate  of  the  Men-kind.  Now  when  these  little 
men  who  are  Gonds  pass  near  to  me  in  the  jungle, 
they  salaam  and  say,  "Peace  be  with  you,  Sher 
Bagh,  Huzoor  Bagh";  and  they  go  in  peace,  and 
the  fear  that  is  on  me  when  I  look  in  their  eyes 
passes  away.' 

"For  many  nights  after  that  we  wandered  far 
through  the  jungle,  I  with  Baghni,  and  Sher  Bagh 
by  himself  in  another  part.  And  in  the  days  that 
were  so  hot,  as  I  slept,  great  times  of  blood  drink 
ing  and  sweet  meat-eating  came  to  my  mind — but 
when  I  woke  there  was  nothing — nothing  but 
hunger  pains  in  my  stomach.  It  was  also  this  way 
with  Baghni  and  Sher  Bagh.  Many  times  Baghni 
said,  'Let  us  kill  the  Goru,  for  of  what  use  is  the 
good  will  of  the  Men-kind  if  we  die?' 

"At  last  Sher  Bagh  also  became  unwise,  and 
said,  'We  will  kill  the  Goru,  for  Baghela  and  you, 
Baghni,  are  starving.  When  the  Goru  feed  in  a 
herd  to-morrow,  even  in  the  time  of  light — which, 
of  course,  was  the  day — together  we  will  creep 


76  THE  SA'-ZADA  TALES 

close  in  the  much-thorned  korinda,  and  kill  a  Cow; 
for  if  we  kill  one  in  a  herd  there  will  be  less  trouble, 
and  perhaps  it  will  not  be  missed  of  the  Men-kind.' 
Wah  !  I  shall  never  forget  the  sweet  eating  of  that 
Goru.  And  the  drink  of  blood!  Che-hough!  it 
was  as  though  I  had  been  athirst  since  my  birth. 

"Sher  Bagh  dragged  the  Goru  to  a  jungle  of 
Kakra  trees,  and  we  ate  it  all.  But  the  next  day 
the  Horned  Ones  did  not  feed  in  that  place,  and  as 
we  were  walking  in  the  close  of  the  daytime  Sher 
Bagh  heard  the  thin-voiced  cry  of  a  Gond  cart 
coming  over  the  road;  it  was  like  the  song  of  the 
Koel  bird;  it  was  made  by  the  wheels,  I  think. 
'There  will  be  Goru  to  the  cart,'  said  Sher  Bagh. 
'Yes,  two  of  them,'  answered  Baghni,  'but  also  one 
of  the  Men-kind,  a  little  Gond.'  'Even  now  I  am 
hungry,'  declared  Sher  Bagh;  'when  I  roar  in  front 
of  the  Goru  the  little  Gond  will  pass  quickly  into  a 
sal  tree,  and  then  we  can  eat  of  his  Bullocks.' 

"It  wa-s  as  my  Sire  had  said,  and  we  made  a  kill, 
and  carried  them  far  from  the  roadside,  and  had 
the  sweetest  eating  for  two  nights.  All  our 
strength  was  coming  back  to  us,  and  Baghni,  pur 
ring  softly,  for  she  was  pleased,  said  to  her  Lord, 
'Did  I  not  say  "drink  the  blood  of  the  Goru,"  when 
we  were  starving,  and  are  they  not  easy  of  kill?' 
But  Sher  Bagh,  looking  up  in  the  trees,  for  it  was 
as  we  came  to  the  kill  for  our  second  night's  eating, 
answered,  'We  must  be  careful,  for  upon  us  will 
surely  fall  the  full  hate  of  these  little  Gonds;  and 


THE  KING  TIGER  77 

they  claim  a  kill  for  a  kill,  blood  for  blood;  it  is 
their  manner  of  life  when  they  deal  with  others  of 
the  Men-kind.' 

"I  knew  that  fear  of  the  little  Gonds  had  come 
strong  upon  my  Sire  when  he  looked  up  to  the  sal 
trees,  for,  as  I  have  said,  it  is  not  of  our  habit  to 
look  up ;  we  fear  nothing  of  the  jungle  that  hides 
in  trees.  The  Peacocks,  and  Monkeys,  and  Crows, 
even  Panther — what  are  they?  Nothing  to  claim 
the  time  of  my  kind.  Said  Sher  Bagh  to  Baghni, 
'The  Goru  that  go  in  carts  are  easy  for  the  kill.' 
'And  there  are  always  two  of  them,'  answered  she. 

"This  new  manner  of  life  by  practice  became 
easy  to  us ;  we  would  hide  in  the  khagar  grass  or 
the  jowri,  which  is  a  nut  grass  of  the  Men,  beside 
the  road  at  the  day's  end,  and  always  we  would 
know  of  the  cart's  coming  by  its  voice,  that  was  like 
Koel  bird's,  or  the  miaou  of  a  Peacock.  We  made 
many  a  kill  of  this  kind.  And  it  was  this  way  that 
I  became  first  of  all  a  Man-killer,  even  my  first 
kill  was  of  the  Men-kind,  just  an  evil  chance.  It 
was  Baghni  who  said  to  Sher  Bagh,  'Baghela  must 
know  the  method  of  a  kill.  We  have  now  not 
much  hunger,  so  let  him  make  the  next  kill  of  the 
Goru,  and  if  he  misses,  it  will  not  matter,  for  we 
are  well  fed.' 

"I  shall  never  forget  that  night  as  I  crouched 
by  the  road  beside  Baghni,  waiting  for  the  little 
Gond  with  his  Goru.  I  was  trembling  like  the  tall 
grass  shivers  at  the  top  when  one  passes  through  it. 


7  8  THE  SA'-ZADA  TALES 

'Keep  still,'  whispered  Baghni;  'a  little  noise  makes 
a  hard  kill,  and  much  noise  is  no  kill  at  all.'  If 
it  had  been  a  Sambhur  or  a  Nilgai  we  should  have 
had  no  supper,  for  the  grass  whispered  under  me 
as  I  shook  it  with  my  trembling.  Then  down  the 
road  in  the  early  dark  came  the  cart  with  its  snarl 
ing  voice.  Just  as  the  Goru  were  opposite,  Baghni 
struck  me  with  her  tail  and  cried,  'Ah-h-houk!' 
which  means  to  charge.  As  I  sprang,  being  but  a 
Baghela,  and  my  first  kill,  I  was  slow,  and  the  Goru 
jumped,  causing  me  to  miss  sadly.  But  I  landed 
full  on  the  cart,  and  by  an  evil  chance  the  little 
Gond  was  under  my  paws.  Mind,  Comrades,  with 
me  it  was  but  a  kill,  and  I  could  not  see  his  eyes, 
and  without  intent  on  my  part  his  shoulder  was  in 
my  jaws,  and  in  less  time  than  I  can  tell  it  I  had  him 
in  the  jungle.  It  was  my  first  kill,  and  I  was  wild — 
but  I  don't  want  to  talk  about  it.  I  wish  he  had 
beaten  me  off,  even  struck  me  with  the  thunder- 
stick,  for,  after  all,  what  was  the  kill?  not  bigger 
than  a  Chetal,  and  it  brought  the  full  hate  of  the 
Men-kind  to  us,  and  Sher  Bagh  and  Baghni  were 
slain." 

"By  the  little  Gonds?"  asked  Hathi. 

"The  Gonds  and  the  Sahibs,"  answered  Tiger. 
"Even  your  people,  Hathi,  took  part  in  the  kill  of 
my  Sire  and  Baghni.  But  it  was  our  old  enemy, 
hunger,  that  caused  it  all.  For  three  nights  we 
waited  by  the  roadside  and  no  carts  passed.  It  is 
true  one  passed;  a  lodhi  cartman,  with  the  wisdom 


79 

of  Cobra,  put  Pig's  fat  on  the  wheels  of  his  cart, 
and  there  was  no  noise  until  he  was  right  upon  us, 
even  had  passed,  for  the  stalk  had  not  properly 
started,  you  see.  'Never  mind,'  said  Baghni,  'the 
little  Men  of  a  slow  wit,  the  Gonds,  will  come  this 
way  with  their  Goru,  many  of  them';  but  they 
didn't.  And  save  for  two  old  Langurs  (monkeys) 
that  cursed  from  a  pipal  tree  as  we  went  back  to 
our  Nullah,  we  saw  no  Dweller  of  the  Jungle,  nor 
of  the  fields.  'The  hate  of  the  little  Gonds  is 
coming  to  us,'  growled  Bagh.  'And  I  am  so 
hungry,'  moaned  Baghni.  'Baghela  should  not 
have  killed  any  of  the  Men-kind,'  declared  my 
Sire. 

"The  Men  go  to  their  rest  at  night,  even  the 
little  Gonds,  knowing  that  the  Jungle  Dwellers  will 
not  come  in  great  numbers  to  the  fields  because  of 
our  guard.  And  it  was  but  an  evil  chance,  too,  that 
I  made  a  kill  of  the  Gond.  But  when  we  were  most 
hungered,  after  many  days,  one  night,  not  far  from 
our  Nullah,  was  a  Bullock  tied  to  a  tree.  'Waw- 
houk!'  exclaimed  Baghni,  calling  her  Lord  to  the 
find;  'Che-waugh!'  said  she,  'here  is  a  Bail  of  the 
Men-kind;  make  the  kill.' 

"  'It  is  of  their  hate,'  growled  Sher  Bagh,  'the 
Bullocks  do  not  come  of  their  own  way  here  to  the 
jungle — we  must  be  careful.' 

"Half  the  night  was  gone  before  we  had  stalked 
all  sides  of  the  Goru,  but  there  was  nothing — not 
even  up  in  the  sal  leaves.  That  was  what  Baghni 


8o  THE  SA'-ZADA  TALES 

said,  for  with  her  sharp  eyes  she  saw  Hookus  (big 
green  pigeon),  resting  on  a  branch,  which  meant 
that  there  was  nothing  to  frighten  him.  When 
Sher  Bagh  had  made  the  kill,  he  dragged  it  far 
away  from  our  Nullah.  That  was  most  wise,  Com 
rades;  it  was  so  that  the  Men-kind  should  not  find 
our  home. 

"When  our  hunger  was  gone  Baghni  said,  'We 
will  eat  again  when  the  sun's  light  passes  once 
more.'  'No,'  growled  my  Sire,  'we  will  not  come 
back  to  the  kill,  for  the  hate  of  the  little  Gonds  will 
be  here  when  they  see  that  we  have  eaten  of  the 
Goru.' 

"That  was  wise  also.  To  make  sure,  and  to 
teach  me,  a  Baghela,  Sher  Bagh  took  us  down  wind 
from  the  drag  next  night,  and  the  scent  of  the  Men- 
kind  came  strong  in  our  faces.  'Our  enemies  are 
there,'  declared  Bagh. 

"Being  a  Baghela  I  thought  this  fine  play,  and 
by  the  cunning  of  my  Sire  we  killed  what  we  found 
tied  in  the  Jungle,  but  never  went  back  to  the  drag. 
Even  once  in  the  dark,  as  we  hunted,  hearing  the 
grunt  of  a  Goru,  and  going  up  wind  to  it,  Sher 
Bagh  knew  that  the  Hunters  were  waiting  in  the 
sal  and  pipal  trees  over  the  bait,  so  we  wrent  back 
to  the  Nullah  and  rested  on  lean  stomachs." 

"Your  Sire  was  too  clever  for  them,"  commented 
Magh,  as  Tiger  ceased  speaking  for  an  instant. 

"Perhaps  it  was  clever,"  answered  Raj  Bagh. 
"But  in  two  days  more  something  came  to  us  that 


THE  KING  TIGER  81 

no  Jungle  Dweller  can  withstand :  a  full  beat  of  the 
Jungles. 

"Being  but  a  Baghela,"  sighed  Raj  Bagh,  "I  did 
not  know  what  it  was  when  the  beat  commenced; 
I  thought  that  the  forest  winds  were  in  an  evil 
temper,  but  Sher  Bagh  cried  to  Baghni,  'Quick! 
we  must  go  far,  for  now  comes  the  hate  of  the 
white-faced  kind,  for  the  beat  is  their  way  of  a 
kill.'  We  lay  quiet  in  our  Nullah,  thinking  they 
might  pass.  'Tap,  tap,  tap !'  I  heard  on  one  side, 
much  like  the  klonk,  klonk!  of  Mis-gar  (copper 
smith  bird) .  'What  is  that?'  I  asked  my  Sire. 

"  'The  sal  trees  cry  because  they  are  stricken 
by  the  Beaters,'  he  answered.  'Turn,  turn,  tum-m  !' 
I  heard  from  the  other  side  of  the  Nullah.  'Is  it 
the  belling  of  a  Nilgai  ?'  I  asked.  'The  little  Gonds 
who  are  of  this  beat  call  with  their  drums,'  an 
swered  Sher  Bagh.  'All  the  jungle  is  falling,'  I 
cried.  'It  is  the  coming  of  Hathi,'  answered  my 
Sire,  'for  it  is  a  beat  of  many  Hathi.  Come, 
Baghela,  come,  Baghni,'  he  called,  and  we  stole 
like  frightened  Chinkara  through  the  sal  and  pipal 
jungle. 

"'To  the  Baghni-wali  nulla!'  (tigress  valley) 
cried  Sher  Bagh  to  us  as  we  followed.  But  as  we 
sought  to  enter  this  place  of  many  caves  a  Beater 
smote  at  us  with  the  thunder-stick  from  a  tree,  but 
that  was  only  to  frighten  us  away,  for  Bagh  whis 
pered,  'The  Beaters  are  not  to  make  the  kill.' 

"  'Here  will  be  little  spoor  for  them  to  follow,' 


82  THE  SA'-ZADA  TALES 

growled  Sher  Bagh  as  we  ran.  Soon  we  thought 
we  had  lost  those  who  sought  our  lives.  As  we 
rested  for  a  little  while  in  some  thick,  wild  plum 
bushes  they  came  all  about  us.  There  were  many 
Hathi,  and  on  three  of  the  Hathi  were  little 
caves " 

"Haudas,"  corrected  Elephant.  "That  is  the 
way  the  Men-kind  ride  on  my  back  when  we  are 
in  the  beat." 

"And  the  Men  had  thunder-sticks  with  which 
they  smote  Sher  Bagh  and  Baghni.  'Waw,  waw- 
houk!'  roared  my  Sire  when  he  was  struck — 'Che- 
waugh!'  he  cried  to  me,  'flee,  Baghela,  while  I 
charge.'  With  a  rush  he  sprang  on  a  big  Hathi's 
nose,  and  I  think  he  got  even  to  the  hauda,  for  the 
Hathi  turned  and  ran,  screaming  with  pain;  and 
I,  seeing  this,  broke  from  my  cover  and  charged 
back  through  the  Beaters  who  were  on  foot.  Just 
in  my  path  I  saw  one  of  the  Beaters  striking  two 
sticks  together.  Being  cross  because  of  my  hot 
pads,  and  what  they  had  done  to  Sher  Bagh,  I 
seized  this  one,  and  took  him  with  me. 

"After  that,  I  lived  alone,  and  because  the 
Jungle  Dwellers  had  fled  from  those  parts,  and  be 
cause  of  the  wrong  we  had  from  these  Gonds,  I 
became  a  Man-killer,  eating  that  which  was  put 
in  my  reach." 

"How  did  they  catch  you?"  questioned  Wolf. 

"Because  I  sought  to  change  my  way  of  life," 
answered  Bagh,  "and  leaving  the  Man-kill  I  made 


"MY   SIRE     .  SPRANG   ON   A   BIG   IIATIIl's   NOSE.' 


THE  KING  TIGER  83 

to  satisfy  my  hunger  with  a  Goat.  I  heard  the 
Goat  cry  at  night-time,"  continued  Bagh,  "and 
after  a  careful  stalk,  finding  nothing  of  the  presence 
of  Man,  I  sprang  on  Bakri  the  Goat— 

"And  the  Goat  captured  you,"  cried  Magh,  glee 
fully. 

"Together  we  fell  into  a  deep  hole  that  had  been 
dug  by  the  evil  little  Gonds.  Though  I  ate  the 
Bakri  I  could  not  get  out  again,  and  in  the  morning 
the  Men  were  all  about  me,  both  white  and  black. 
How  the  little  Men  reviled  me  !  But  it  seemed  the 
Sahibs  wanted  to  take  me  alive,  so  they  dug  an 
other  hole  close  to  the  one  in  which  I  was,  put  a 
big  wooden  cage  with  a  door  to  it  down,  and  then 
with  long  spears  broke  through  the  walls  between 
the  cage  and  the  hole  I  was  in.  Of  course,  I  was 
glad  enough  to  go  any  place;  besides,  they  threw 
down  on  me  their  dreadful  fire.  I  sprang  in  the 
cage  and  the  door  dropped  behind  me.  Then  many 
of  the  Men-kind  pulled  the  cage  out  with  ropes, 
and  I  was  sent  here  to  Sa'-zada." 


Fifth  Night 


The    Story    of   the   Tribe   of  King 
Cobra 


V/IlVT*  : 


FIFTH  NIGHT 

THE  STORY  OF  THE  TRIBE  OF  KING  COBRA 

IT  was  the  fifth  night  of  the  Sa'-zada  tales.  As 
usual,  Hathi,  Grey  Wolf,  and  all  the  other 
animals,  jostling  each  other  merrily  like  a  lot  of 
schoolboys,  had  gathered  in  front  of  Tiger's  cage. 

Said  the  Keeper:  "Comrades,  you  must  all  be 
very  careful,  for  this  is  Snake's  night." 

"Oo-o-oh!"  whimpered  Jackal,  "is  Nag  the 
Cobra  to  come  here  among  us?" 

Even  Hathi  trembled,  and  blowing  softly 
through  his  trumpet,  said:  "Oh,  Sa'-zada,  I  who 
am  a  Lord  of  the  Jungle,  fearing  not  any  Dweller 
therein,  feel  great  pains  this  evening.  I  am  sure 
that  hay  is  musty  and  has  disagreed  with  me.  If 
you  do  not  mind,  Little  Brother,  I  will  go  back  to 
my  stall  and  lie  down." 

"Will  Deboia  the  Climber  come  also,  Little 
Master?"  asked  Magh.  "If  so,  I  think  my  Terrier 
Pup  is  feeling  unwell;  I  will  take  him  to  my  cage 
and  wrap  him  in  his  blanket.  I  hate  snake  stories, 
anyway." 

"Hiz-z-z !"  laughed  Python,  who  was  already 
87 


88  THE  SA'-ZADA  TALES 

there.  "Lords  of  the  Jungle  indeed!  When  I 
strike  or  throw  a  loop,  or  go  swift  as  the  wind 
through  the  Jungle — Thches-s-s !  but  I  am  no 
boaster.  See  our  friends.  When  the  smallest  of 
my  kind  are  to  be  here  each  one  makes  his  ex 
cuses." 

"Never  fear,  Comrades,"  Sa'-zada  assured  the 
frightened  animals,  "Nag  the  Cobra,  and  Karait, 
and  all  the  others  will  behave  themselves  if  they 
are  left  alone.  Only  don't  move  about,  that's 
all.  The  first  law  when  Snakes  are  about  is — keep 
still." 

"Yes,  we  like  quietness,"  assented  Python. 
"Once  there  was  a  fussy  old  Buffalo  Bull  who  used 
to  come  to  my  pool  and  stir  up  the  mud  until  it  was 
scarce  fit  to  live  in.  In  the  end  I  threw  a  loop 
around  his  neck,  and  he  became  one  of  the  quietest 
Bulls  you  ever  saw  in  your  life." 

"Now,  Comrades,"  said  Sa'-zada,  as  he  returned 
accompanied  by  the  Dwellers  of  the  Snake  House, 
"Hamadryad,  the  King  Cobra,  has  promised  us  a 
story." 

"Look  at  my  length,"  cried  Hamadryad,  draw 
ing  his  yellow  and  black  mottled  body  through 
many  intricate  knots  like  a  skein  of  colored  silk; 
"think  you  I  was  born  this  way  just  as  I  am?  At 
first — that  was  up  in  the  Yoma  Hills  in  Burma — 
I  was  not  much  larger  than  a  good-sized  hair  from 
Tiger's  mustache,  and  since  then  it  has  been  noth 
ing  but  adventure.  Even  my  Mother,  where  she 


THE  TRIBE  OF  KING  COBRA        89 

had  us  hid  in  a  pile  of  rocks  covered  with  ferns, 
had  to  fight  for  our  lives." 

"Phuff!"  retorted  Boar,  disdainfully,  "many  a 
nest  of  Cobra  eggs  have  I  rid  the  world  of." 

"Not  of  my  kind,  I'll  warrant,"  snorted  Python, 
blowing  his  foul  breath  like  a  small  sirocco  almost 
in  Pig's  face.  "Of  Nag,  or  Hamadryad's  family, 
perhaps,  yes,  for,  know  you,  Comrades,  what 
Nagina  does  with  her  eggs  ?  Lays  them  in  the  sun 
to  hatch  apsi  (of  themselves) .  But  my  Mother— 
ah,  you  should  have  seen  her,  Comrades;  all  the 
eggs  gathered  in  a  heap,  and  her  great,  beautiful 
body — much  like  my  own  in  color — wound  tenderly 
about  them  until  the  young  came  forth.  Perhaps 
a  matter  of  two  moons  and  never  a  bite  for  her  to 
eat  all  the  time.  That's  what  I  call  being  a  genuine 
Mother." 

"Very  wise,  indeed,  and  thoughtful,"  cried  the 
Salt  Water  Snake.  "My  Mother — well  I  remem 
ber  it — carried  her  eggs  about  in  her  body  till  they 
were  hatched,  which  seems  to  me  quite  as  good  a 
plan.  Also,  nobody  molests  us — if  they  do,  they 
die  quickly.  We  all  can  kill  quite  as  readily  as  Nag 
the  Cobra,  though  there  is  less  talk  about  us." 

"Even  so,"  assented  Hamadryad,  "the  proof  of 
the  matter  is  in  being  here;  and,  as  I  was  going  to 
say,  it  is  this  way  with  my  people;  in  the  hot 
weather  when  there  is  no  rain  we  burrow  in  the 
ground  for  months  at  a  stretch.  And  then  the  rains 
come  on  and  we  are  driven  out  of  our  holes  by 


90  THE  SA'-ZADA  TALES 

the  water,  and  live  abroad  in  the  Jungles  for  a 
time.  It  was  at  this  season  of  the  year  I  speak  of; 
I  had  just  come  up  out  of  my  burrow  and  was  won 
drous  hungry,  I  can  tell  you ;  and,  traveling,  I  came 
across  the  trail  of  a  Karait.  I  followed  Karait's 
trail,  and  found  him  in  a  hole  under  a  bungalow 
of  the  Men-kind.  It  was  dry  under  the  bungalow, 
so  I  rested  after  my  meal  in  the  hole  that  had  been 
Karait's.  It  was  a  good  place,  so  I  lived  there. 
Every  day  a  young  of  the  Men-kind " 

"I  know,"  interrupted  Mooswa;  "a  Boy,  eh?" 

"Perhaps;  but  the  old  ones  called  him  'Baba.' 
And  Baba  used  to  come  every  day  under  the  bun 
galow  to  play.  He  threw  little  sticks  and  stones 
at  me;  but  nothing  to  hurt,  mind  you,  for  he  was 
small.  The  things  he  threw  wouldn't  have  injured 
a  Fly-Lizard  as  he  crawled  on  the  bungalow  posts. 
He  laughed  when  he  saw  me,  and  called,  as  he 
clapped  his  little  hands,  and  I  wouldn't  have  hurt 
him — why  should  I  ?  I  don't  eat  Babas. 

"When  I  heard  the  heavy  feet  of  the  Men  I 
always  slipped  in  the  hole ;  but,  one  day,  by  an  evil 
chance  I  was  to  one  side  looking  for  food,  and 
Baba  was  following,  when  his  Mother  saw  me. 
Such  a  row  there  was,  the  Men  running,  and  Baba's 
Mother  calling,  and  only  the  little  one  with  no  fear. 
Surely  it  was  the  fear  of  which  Chita  and  Hathi 
have  spoken  which  came  over  the  Men-kind. 

"There  was  one  of  a  great  size,  like  Bear 
Muskwa,  with  a  stomach  such  as  Magh's.  He  was 


AND     BABA    USED    TO     COME    EVERY    DAY    UNDER    THE    BUNGALOW    TO 
PLAY      ,  ." 


THE  TRIBE  OF  KING  COBRA        91 

a  native  baboo.  He  had  a  black  face,  and  his  voice 
was  like  the  trumpet  of  Hathi;  but  when  I  went 
straight  his  way,  and  rose  up  to  strike,  his  fat  legs 
made  great  haste  to  carry  him  far  away.  Then 
I  glided  in  the  hole." 

"Ghur-ah!  it  seems  a  strange  tale,"  snarled 
Wolf;  "even  I  would  not  dare,  being  alone,  to 
chase  one  of  the  Men-kind." 

"It  may  be  true,"  declared  Sa'-zada,  "for  it  is 
written  in  the  Book  that  Hamadryad  is  the  only 
Snake  that  will  really  chase  a  man,  and  show  fight." 

"I  could  hear  the  Men-kind  talking  and  tramp 
ing  about,"  continued  King  Cobra,  "and  meant  to 
lie  still  till  night,  and  then  go  away,  for  I  usually 
traveled  in  the  dark,  you  know.  But  presently 
there  was  a  soft  whistling  music  calling  me  to  come 
out;  and  also  at  times  a  pleading  voice,  though  of 
the  Men-kind,  I  knew  that,  'Ho,  Bhai  (brother), 
ho,  Raj  Naga  (King  Cobra)  !  come  here,  quick, 
Little  Brother.'  Then  the  soft  whistle  called  me, 
sometimes  loud,  and  sometimes  low,  and  even  the 
noise  was  twisting  and  swinging  in  the  air  just  as 
I  might  myself. 

"Hiz-z-z-za !  but  I  commenced  to  tremble;  and 
I  was  full  of  fear,  and  I  was  full  of  love  for  the 
soft  sounds,  and  with  my  eyes  I  wished  to  see  it. 
So  I  came  out  of  the  hole,  and  there  was  a  Black 
Man  making  the  soft  call  from  a  hollow  stick." 

"A  Snake  Charmer  with  his  pipes,"  exclaimed 
Sa'-zada. 


92  THE  SA'-ZADA  TALES 

"I  raised  up  in  anger,  thinking  that  he,  too, 
would  soon  run  away ;  but  he  pointed  with  his  hand, 
now  this  way,  from  side  to  side,  even  as  the  sweet 
sound  from  the  hollow  stick  seemed  to  twist  and 
curl  in  the  air;  and  following  his  hand  with  my 
eyes,  I  commenced  to  swing  as  the  hand  swung. 

"'Ho,  Little  Brother!'  he  called,  'come  here.' 

"It  was  to  a  basket  at  his  side;  for,  though  I 
meant  not  to  do  it,  I  glided  into  it." 

"That  was  the  manner  of  your  taking?"  asked 
Chita. 

"Better  than  having  one's  toes  squeezed  in  an 
iron  trap,"  declared  Jackal. 

"Or  being  beaten  by  chains,"  murmured  Hathi. 

"Yes,  the  taking  was  simple  enough;  but  if  Baba 
had  not  cried,  the  Men  would  have  killed  me,  I 
think." 

"And  that  was  how  you  came  to  Lower  Burma  ?" 
asked  Sa'-zada. 

"Yes,"  answered  Hamadryad,  "this  man  who 
made  music  with  the  hollow  stick  took  me  with  him, 
and  at  every  place  where  there  were  any  of  his 
fellows  he  brought  me  forth  from  the  basket,  and 
made  me  dance  to  his  music.  That  was  what  he 
called  it — dance." 

"Why  didn't  you  bite  him?"  queried  Rattler, 
making  his  tail  rattles  sing  in  anger. 

"He  pulled  out  my  fangs,"  declared  Hama 
dryad. 

"He-he,"   sneered   Magh;   "now  surely  it  is  a 


THE  TRIBE  OF  KING  COBRA        93 

great  lie,  this  wondrous  tale  of  Cobra's,  for  in  his 
mouth  are  the  very  fangs  he  says  the  black-faced 
player  of  music  pulled." 

"Most  wise  Ape,"  said  Hamadryad,  ironically, 
"what  your  big  head,  like  unto  a  Jack  fruit,  does 
not  understand,  is  a  lie,  forsooth.  Even  though  my 
teeth  were  pulled  three  times,  they  would  grow 
again;  but  you  do  not  know  that — therefore  it  is 
a  lie.  Even  now,  behind  these  that  you  see,  and 
perhaps  yet  may  feel  if  you  keep  on,  are  others 
waiting  the  time  when  these  may  be  broken.  Was 
it  not  Hathi  said  some  wise  animal  arranged  all 
these  things  for  us?" 

"Sa'-zada  says  it  is  God,"  interrupted  Hathi. 

"This  man  made  me  fight  with  a  Mongoos,  that 
those  of  his  kind  might  laugh." 

"What  is  a  Mongoos?"  queried  Magh. 

"Our  natural  enemy,"  answered  King  Cobra, 
"just  as  Fleas  and  other  Vermin  are  yours.  But  I 
killed  the  squeaky  little  beast  with  one  drive  of 
my  head — broke  his  back.  At  Ramree  a  Sahib 
bought  me  from  the  black  man." 

"That  was  the  Sahib  who  sent  you  here,  I 
fancy,"  suggested  Sa'-zada. 

"Perhaps.  At  any  rate  he  seemed  fond  of 
Snakes  of  my  kind,  for  he  put  me  in  a  box  wherein 
was  one  of  my  family.  But  he  should  have  known 
more  about  our  manner  of  life,  for  he  nearly 
starved  us  through  ignorance  of  our  taste.  He 
puts  Rats  and  Frogs,  and  Birds  and  such  Vermin 


94  THE  SA'-ZADA  TALES 

as  that  in,  with  never  so  much  as  a  Green-Tree- 
Snake.  The  yellow-faced  Burmans  used  to  come 
in  front  of  our  cage  and  touch  us  up  with  sticks 
until  my  nose  was  skinned  with  striking  at  them 
and  hitting  the  bars. 

"Our  getting  something  to  eat  was  a  pure  acci 
dent.  One  night  this  Sahib  stepped  on  a  Snake — 
a  young  Rock  Snake,  which  had  curled  up  in  the 
path  for  the  warmth  of  the  hot  earth.  'Oh,  ho!' 
said  the  Sahib,  bringing  this  new  Snake  to  our  cage, 
'you  are  looking  for  trouble,  little  Samp  (snake). 
Let  us  see  how  you  get  on  in  there,'  and  he  threw 
him  in  our  box,  expecting  to  see  a  fight." 

"And  did  he?"  queried  Magh. 

"Hiz-z-z-za !  I  should  say  so.  My  mate  and  I 
fought  half  an  hour  before  we  settled  who  was  to 
eat  the  visitor." 

"You  two  Comrades  fought  over  it?"  asked 
Mooswa. 

"Yes;  that  is  our  way.  Two  Snakes  cannot  eat 
one — how  else  should  we  settle  the  question?  we 
were  both  hungry.  Why,  one  day  my  mate  flew 
at  me,  and  I  could  see  in  his  eye  that  he  meant 
eating  me,  and  in  self-defence  I  was  forced  to  put 
him  out  of  the  way  of  mischief,  but  the  Sahib 
pulled  us  apart. 

"But  if  I  hated  the  Yellow  Men  who  came  to 
my  cage,  I  liked  the  Mem-Sahib  (white  lady).  I 
think  it  was  her  voice.  Hiz-z,  hiz-z,  hiz-z !  It 
was  as  soft  as  the  song  the  man  had  brought  forth 


THE  TRIBE  OF  KING  COBRA        95 

from  the  hollow  stick.  Sometimes  I  would  hear 
her  voice-song  near  my  box,  and  it  would  put  me  to 
sleep;  only,  of  course,  I  had  to  keep  one  eye  open 
lest  my  mate  would  try  to  eat  me — 

"I  had  no  idea  Snakes  were  so  fond  of  each 
other,"  said  Magh,  maliciously. 

"Yes;  I  think  I  should  have  eaten  him  to  have 
saved  that  worry.  But  I  must  tell  you  about  the 
Mem-Sahib  and  the  Cook.  He  was  small  and  so 
black — a  perfect  little  Pig.  One  day  when  the 
Sahib  was  away,  the  Cook  became  possessed  of 
strange  devils." 

"Became  drunken  on  his  Master's  liquor,  I  sup 
pose,"  remarked  Sa'-zada. 

"Perhaps,  for  he  came  and  took  me  out  of  the 
box,  wound  me  around  his  shoulders  and  waist,  and 
went  with  a  clamor  of  evil  sounds,  in  to  my  Mem- 
Sahib." 

"Just  like  a  Man,"  sneered  Pardus. 

"Even  I  was  ashamed,"  continued  Hamadryad. 
"My  Mem-Sahib  cried  out  with  fear,  and  her  eyes 
were  dreadful  to  look  into. 

"I  glided  twice  about  the  Man-devil's  neck,  and 
drew  each  coil  tight  and  tight  and  tighter,  and 
swung  my  head  forward  until  I  looked  into  his 
eyes,  and  I  nodded  twice  thus,"  and  the  King  Cobra 
swayed  his  vicious  black  head  back  and  forth  with 
the  full  suggestiveness  of  a  death  thrust,  until  each 
one  of  the  animals  shivered  with  fear. 

"I  think  he  died  of  the  Man-fear  Hathi  has 


96  THE  SA'-ZADA  TALES 

spoken  of,  for  I  did  not  strike  him — it  may  be  that 
the  coils  about  his  throat  were  over-tight.  But  I 
glided  back  to  my  box,  and  I  think  the  Mem-Sahib 
knew  that  I  did  not  wish  to  even  make  her  afraid." 

"Most  interesting,"  declared  Sa'-zada.  "Is  that 
all,  Cobra?" 

"Yes;  I'm  tired.     Let  Python  talk." 

The  huge  Snake  uncoiled  three  yards  of  his 
length,  slipped  it  forward  as  easily,  as  noiselessly 
as  one  blows  smoke,  shoved  his  big  flat  head  up 
over  the  Keeper's  knee,  ran  his  tongue  out  four 
times  to  moisten  his  lips,  and  said:  "I  am  also 
from  the  East,  and  I  do  not  like  this  land.  Here 
my  strength  is  nothing,  for  I  can't  eat.  A  Chicken 
twice  a  month — what  is  that  to  one  of  my  size? 
Sa'-zada  will  eat  as  much  in  a  day;  and  yet  in  my 
full  strength  I  could  crush  five  such  as  our  Little 
Brother.  Many  loops!  in  my  own  Jungle  I  could 
wind  myself  about  a  Buffalo  and  pull  his  ribs  to 
gether  until  his  whole  body  was  like  loose  earth. 
I  have  done  it.  Sa'-zada  knows  that  for  months 
and  months  after  I  came  I  ate  nothing,  and  in  the 
end  they  took  me  out  on  the  floor  there,  six  of  them, 
and  shoved  food  down  my  throat  with  a  stick. 

"Once  I  had  run  down  a  Barking  Deer,  and 
swallowed  him,  and  was  having  a  little  sleep,  when 
I  wandered  into  the  most  frightful  sort  of  night 
mare.  It  came  to  me  in  my  sleep  that  Bagh  had 
charged  me  of  a  sudden,  and  gripped  my  throat  in 
his  strong  jaws.  I  opened  my  eyes  in  fright,  and, 


THE  TRIBE  OF  KING  COBRA        97 

sure  enough,  I  was  being  choked  with  a  rope  in 
the  hands  of  the  Men-kind.  Each  end  of  it  was 
fastened  to  a  long  bamboo,  and  the  Men  were  on 
either  side  of  me.  I  made  the  leaves  and  dry  wood 
in  that  part  of  the  Jungle  whirl  for  a  little,  but  it 
was  no  use — I  couldn't  get  away.  Also  a  man  of 
the  White-kind  was  sitting  on  a  laid  tree,  and  in 
his  hands  was  a  loud-voiced  gun.  But  I  nearly 
paid  him  out  for  some  of  the  insult.  They  dragged 
me  on  to  the  road,  and  I  lay  there  quiet  and  simple- 
looking.  He  thought  I  was  asleep,  I  suppose.  At 
any  rate  he  came  up  and  touched  me  on  the  nose 
with  his  toe. 

"I  struck;  but,  though  I  knew  it  not,  the  rope 
was  tight  held  by  one  of  the  Yellow-kind  who  stood 
behind  me,  and  I  but  got  a  full  choking;  though, 
as  I  have  said,  the  other,  he  of  the  White  Face, 
was  stricken  with  fear. 

"They  put  me  in  a  box,  but  though  I  have  no 
appetite  here,  I  could  eat  there,  and  they  gave  me 
so  many  chickens  that  I  shed  my  beautiful  skin 
almost  monthly.  I  nearly  died  from  the  over-diet, 
not  being  used  to  such  plenty." 

"Tell  us  of  your  food-winning  in  the  Jungle," 
craved  Sa'-zada. 

"Though  I  go  wondrous  swift,"  began  Python, 
"yet  if  any  of  the  Deer-kind  passed  me  on  foot  I 
could  not  catch  them.  Because  of  this  I  was  forced 
to  take  great  thought  to  outwit  them.  You,  Gidar, 
and  you,  Hathi,  know  of  the  elephant  creeper  that 


98  THE  SA'-ZADA  TALES 

is  in  all  those  Jungles,  how  it  runs  from  tree  to 
tree  for  many  a  mile — so  strong  that  it  sometimes 
pulls  down  the  biggest  wood-grower.  Well, 
having  knowledge  of  a  Deer's  path,  I  would  stretch 
my  body  across  it  much  after  that  fashion,  and  the 
silly  creatures  with  their  ribbed  faces,  always 
coughing  a  hoarse  bark,  and  always  possessed  of  a 
stupid  fear,  would  walk  right  into  my  folds,  think 
ing  me  a  part  of  the  creeper.  Once,  even,  as  I 
think  of  it,  a  hunter — of  the  White-kind  he  was — 
ate  his  food  sitting  on  a  coil  of  my  body  as  I  lay 
twisted  about  a  tree.  To  tell  you  the  truth,  I  was 
asleep,  having  fed  well,  and  only  woke  up  because 
of  his  sticking  his  cutting  knife  into  my  back,  think 
ing,  of  course,  he  was  standing  it  in  the  wood, 
when  I  suddenly  squirmed  and  upset  him,  and  his 
food  and  drink. 

"But  when  it  was  the  dry  season  and  the  leaves 
were  off  the  trees,  the  Jungle  was  so  open  that  even 
the  silly  Deer  could  see  the  rich  color  of  my  beau 
tiful  skin,  and  for  days  and  days  I  went  hungry. 
Then  I  would  go  to  the  small  water  ponds,  Jheels, 
and  curling  my  tail  about  a  tree  on  one  side,  put 
myself  across,  and  catching  a  tree  on  the  other  side 
with  my  teeth,  swing  my  body  back  and  forth  and 
throw  the  water  all  out  on  the  land.  Then  I  would 
eat  all  the  Fish-dwellers,  and  go  to  sleep  for  a  week. 

"Once  in  a  land  of  many  pigs,  I  worked  for  days 
and  days  in  that  part  of  the  Jungle  bending  down 
small  trees,  and  arranging  the  creepers  until  I  had 


"I   WOULD    STRETCH   MY   I?ODY  ACROSS    IT   MUCH   AFTER   THAT   FASHION." 


THE  TRIBE  OF  KING  COBRA        99 

a  keddah  with  two  long  sides  running  far  out  into 
the  Jungle.  Then,  going  beyond,  I  made  a  great 
noise,  rushing  up  and  down,  and  many  of  these 
Dwellers  being  possessed  of  fear,  fled  into  the 
keddah  and  I  devoured  them." 

Chita  sat  on  his  haunches  and  looked  at  Python 
in  astonishment,  his  big  black  head  low  hung, 
and  a  sneer  of  great  unbelief  on  his  mustached 
lips. 

"Surely  this  is  the  one  great  liar!"  he  exclaimed. 
"If  these  things  be  not  written  in  the  Book,  then 
Python  has  most  surely  had  such  a  dream  as  he 
has  told  us  of." 

"Without  doubt  it  is  a  lie,"  declared  Magh,  "but 
for  my  part  I  am  ready  to  believe  anything  of  his 
kind.  In  my  Jungle  home  never  once  did  I  climb 
out  on  a  tree  limb  without  pinching  it  to  see 
whether  it  was  wood  or  a  vile  thing  such  as  yon 
mottled  boaster." 

"Are  the  stories  of  Python  written  in  the  Book, 
O  Sa'-zada?"  queried  Mooswa. 

"No,"  answered  the  Keeper,  "but  Python  may 
have  had  this  strange  manner  of  life." 

"Whether  they  be  true  tales  or  false  tales," 
hissed  Python,  "I  am  now  tired,  and  they  are  at  an 
end." 

"Well,"  said  Sa'-zada,  stroking  the  glistening 
scales  of  the  big  Snake's  head,  "it  is  time  to  cage 
up  now.  Perhaps  we'll  all  have  strange  dreams  to 
night." 


ioo  THE  SA'-ZADA  TALES 

Soon  the  animals  were  sound  asleep,  all  but 
Magh,  who  spent  an  hour  chattering  to  Blitz,  her 
Fox  Terrier  Pup,  on  the  enormity  of  telling  false 
tales, 


Sixth   Night 

The   Story   of  the   Monkeys 


SIXTH  NIGHT 

THE  STORY  OF  THE  MONKEYS 

SUCH  a  row  there  had  been  all  day  in  Animal 
Town. 

Sa'-zada,  the  Keeper,  had  told  Magh,  the 
Orang-outang,  that  the  Monkeys  were  to  tell 
stories  that  night  at  the  usual  meeting.  That  was 
the  cause  of  the  excitement. 

All  day  the  Monkeys,  living  in  a  row  of  cages 
like  dwellers  in  tenement  houses,  had  chattered  to 
each  other  through  the  bars,  and  admonished  one 
another  to  think  of  just  the  cleverest  things  any  of 
their  family  or  ancestors  had  ever  done. 

"We  are  like  the  Men-kind,"  Magh  kept  repeat 
ing;  "we  are  the  Bandar-log,  the  Jungle  People. 

"Listen,  Comrades,  what  is  my  name  even? 
Orang-outang,  which  means  Chief  of  the  Jungle 
People. 

"See,  even  I  have  my  Dog,  as  do  the  Men-kind," 
and  she  held  up  Blitz,  the  Fox-Terrier  Pup,  by  the 
ear  until  he  squealed  and  bit  her  in  the  arm.  "See, 
he  has  bitten  me  even  as  he  would  a  man,"  she 
cried,  triumphantly. 

103 


io4  THE  SA'-ZADA  TALES 

Two  doors  down  were  three  little  brown  Mon 
keys  caged  with  an  Armadillo  who  looked  like  a 
toy,  iron-plated  gun-boat. 

"Oh,  we  are  people  who  think,"  cried  one  of 
these,  pouncing  down  on  the  Armadillo.  The  little 
gun-boat  drew  his  armor  plate  down  about  him 
like  a  Mud-turtle.  The  Monkey  caught  the  side 
of  it  with  his  hand,  lifted  it  up,  bit  the  Armadillo 
in  the  soft  flesh,  and  raced  up  on  his  shelf  where  he 
chattered:  "Oh,  we  are  the  people  who  think. 
That  is  not  instinct — my  father  was  never  caged 
with  an  Armadillo." 

At  last  night  came,  and  Sa'-zada,  throwing  down 
bars  and  opening  cages,  had  gathered  as  usual  his 
animal  friends  in  front  of  Tiger's  cage. 

"Ho,  Little  Brother,"  began  Black  Panther, 
speaking  to  Sa'-zada,  "why  should  we  who  are 
great  in  our  own  jungles  listen  to  these  empty- 
headed  Bandar-log?  Was  there  ever  any  good  at 
their  hands?" 

"Oo-oo!  A-huk,  a-huk!"  cried  Hanuman,  "you 
of  all  the  thieving  slayers  should  know  of  that 
matter.  How  many  times  have  you  been  saved 
from  danger  because  of  our  watchfulness — and 
also  Bagh  the  Killer!  Many  a  hard  drive,  the 
hunt  drive  of  the  Men-kind,  has  come  to  nothing 
because  of  us — because  we  never  sleep.  When 
your  stomach  is  full  you  sleep  soundly,  trusting  to 
a  warning  from  us,  the  Bandar-log.  Nothing  can 
be  done  in  the  jungles  that  we  do  not  know.  And 


THE  STORY  OF  THE  MONKEYS    105 

do  we  steal  silently  away  as  is  your  method  ?  Not 
a  bit  of  it.  By  the  safety  of  Jungle-dwellers !  we 
give  the  cry  of  beware  !  Listen— 

"A-huk,  a-huk!  Chee-chee-chee !  Waugh, 
waugh,  a-huk!"  and  the  voice  of  the  gray-whis 
kered,  black-faced  ape  reverberated  on  the  dead 
night  air  through  the  houses  of  Animal  Town  like 
the  clangor  of  a  cracked  bell. 

"That  is  quite  true,"  declared  Mor,  the  Pea 
cock;  "I  also  am  one  of  the  Jungle  Watchers — 
though  I  get  little  credit  for  it.  None  of  the 
Dwellers  thank  us;  and  sometimes  in  their  anger 
the  Sahibs  who  are  making  the  drive  shoot  us  for 
our  trouble,  saying  that  we  have  spoiled  sport. 
Many  a  jungle  life  have  I  saved  through  my  cry 
of 'Miaou!  Miaou!'" 

"Disturbers  of  sleep!"  sneered  Black  Panther; 
"there  is  little  to  choose  between  you — you're  a 
noisy  lot  of  beggars." 

"You  are  hardly  fair,  Pardus,"  remonstrated 
Sa'-zada.  "I  quite  believe  what  Hanuman  says, 
for  it  is  well  known  that  some  of  the  Monkey-tribe 
saved  Gibraltar  to  the  British  by  their  watchful 
ness,  and  the  men  are  more  grateful  than  you,  for 
to  this  day  monkeys  are  protected  and  made  much 
of  there." 

"It  was  my  people  did  that,"  cried  Magot,  the 
Rock  Ape,  blinking  his  deep,  narrow-set  eyes.  "We 
have  lived  there  for  a  long  time." 

"And  in  Benares,  where  I  lived  once,  we  are 


io6  THE  SA'-ZADA  TALES 

people  of  great  honor,"  added  a  white-whiskered 
Monkey.  "I  should  like  to  see  Black  Pardus  harm 
one  of  us  there." 

The  speaker  was  Entellus,  the  sacred  Hanumari 
Monkey,  whose  rights  of  protection  in  the  City  of 
Temples,  Benares,  was  almost  greater  than  that 
of  the  human  dwellers. 

"You  can't  twiddle  your  thumbs!  You  can't 
twiddle  your  thumbs!"  cried  Cockatoo,  mock 
ingly. 

"But  I  can  see  my  under  lip,"  retorted  Magh, 
angrily,  sticking  it  out  and  looking  down  at  it,  "and 
that's  more  than  you  can  do,  with  your  lobster's 
claw  of  a  nose." 

Cockatoo  had  hit  the  truth  about  the  thumbs, 
for  no  ape  can  make  them  go  around,  only  in  and 
out  straight  to  the  palm.  This  matter  of  thumbs 
is  the  great  line  of  defence  between  man  and  his 
disputed  Simian  ancestor. 

"Our  manner  of  life,"  began  Hanuman,  in  the 
little  silence  that  ensued,  "is  to  live  in  the  tree-tops. 
Our  families  are  raised  there,  and  we  are  seldom 
on  the  ground." 

"No,  the  ground  is  a  dangerous  place,"  con 
curred  Chimpanzee;  "Leopards,  and  Snakes,  and 
Men,  and  evil  things  of  that  sort  about  all  the 
time.  I,  too,  build  a  little  house  in  the  strong 
branches  of  a  tree,  and  live  there  until  the  fruit 
gets  scarce;  then,  of  course,  I  have  to  go  to  a  new 
part  and  build  another." 


THE  STORY  OF  THE  MONKEYS    107 

"I  thought  I  was  the  only  animal  that  had  sense 
enough  to  build  a  house,"  grunted  Wild  Boar. 

"Perhaps  you  are,"  said  Chimpanzee;  "I'm  no 
animal." 

"You  are  a  Monkey "  began  Boar,  apolo 
getically. 

"I'm  not  a  Monkey,"  insisted  the  other,  very 
haughtily;  "they  go  in  droves.  But  we,  who  are 
the  Jungle  People,  build  houses  and  have  a  wife 
and  family  just  like  the  Men." 

"You  can't  twiddle  your  thumbs !"  shrieked 
Cockatoo;  but  Hathi  reached  up  with  his  trunk 
and  tweaked  the  bird's  nose  before  he  could  repeat 
the  taunt. 

"Once  upon  a  time,"  began  Hooluk,  solemnly, 
"there  was  a  great  Raja  sore  troubled  because  those 
of  my  kind,  the  Apes,  ate  all  the  grain  and  fruit 
in  his  country.  To  be  sure,  it  was  a  year  of  much 
starvation.  And  the  King  commanded  that  all  the 
Bandar-log  should  be  killed. 

"Then  Hanuman,  the  wise  Ape,  who  was  our 
cousin,  asked  of  my  people  what  might  be  done; 
but  we,  being  tender-hearted,  and  not  knowing 
how  to  pacify  the  King,  hung  with  our  heads  down 
and  wept  in  misery. 

"Now  this  gave  Hanuman,  who  is  most  wise,  an 
idea.  He  ordered  all  the  other  Bandar-log  to  go  far 
into  the  jungles  and  hide,  while  we  were  to  remain 
and  lament,  and  declare  that  our  friends  were 
dead.  The  Raja,  hearing  our  sad  cry,  relented, 


io8  THE  SA'-ZADA  TALES 

and  commanded  that  the  killing  should  cease.  And 
since  that  time  we  have  always  cried  thus,  and  our 
faces  have  been  black,  and  all  because  of  the  dark 
sins  of  the  other  Bandar-log." 

"Was  there  ever  such  a  lie •"  began  Pardus; 

but  Jackal  interrupted  him,  declaring  that  he,  too, 
cried  at  night  because  of  the  wickedness  of  other 
Jungle  Dwellers. 

"By  my  lonesome  life!"  muttered  Mooswa.  "1 
have  heard  the  Loon  cry  on  Slave  Lake,  but  for 
a  real,  depressing  night  noise  commend  me  to  Hoo- 
luk.  I  have  no  doubt  his  tale  is  quite  true,  a  cry 
such  as  he  has  could  not  have  been  given  him  for 
amusement." 

"Scratch  my  head!"  cried  Cockatoo;  "I  think 
Hooluk's  tale  is  quite  true,  for  even  I,  who  am 
only  appreciated  because  of  my  beauty " 

"Hide  your  nose,"  croaked  Kauwa,  the  Crow. 

"Because  of  my  beauty,"  resumed  Cockatoo,  "I 
once  saved  the  life  of  all  my  Master's  family.  The 
bungalow  was  on  fire  and  they  were  asleep.  'Scree- 
ya  ah-ah!'  I  cried;  then,  'Quick,  Pootai,  bring  the 
water '  " 

"To  be  famous  one  must  needs  know  a  great  lie 
and  tell  it,"  snarled  Pardus,  disagreeably.  "The 
way  of  all  Jungle  Dwellers  is  to  kill  something; 
but  here  are  pot-bellied,  empty-headed  Apes,  and 
Birds  of  little  sense,  all  boasting  of  saving  lives." 

"Let  me  talk,"  cried  Water  Monkey,  scratch 
ing  his  ribs  with  industry.  "If  I  tell  not  true  tales 


THE  STORY  OF  THE  MONKEYS    109 

then  call  Hornbill,  and  Jackal,  and  King  Cobra 
to  stand  against  me,  for  we  are  all  of  the  same 
land.  We  were  a  big  family,  a  full  hundred  of 
us  at  least,  and  every  way  was  our  way — water,  and 
land,  and  tree-top.  We  ate  fruits,  and  nuts,  and 
grains,  and  things  that  are  cast  up  by  the  waters. 
Talking  of  fishing,  you  should  have  seen  my 
mother.  When  the  sea  had  gone  back  from  the 
shore  we  would  all  troop  down.  When  the  Crabs 
saw  us  coming  they  would  scuttle  into  holes  and 
under  rocks,  and  we'd  catch  every  Crab  on  the 
shore.  It  was  my  mother  taught  me  the  trick — 
wise  old  lady;  I'd  shove  my  tail  under  the  rock, 
the  Crab  would  lay  hold  of  it,  and  then  out  he'd 
come. 

"Oh,  there  was  good  eating  on  those  shores. 
Fat  Oysters  the  size  of  a  banana.  It  was  mother 
showed  me  how  to  take  a  stone  in  my  hand,  and 
break  them  off  the  rocks.  And,  as  Magh  has  said, 
we  are  much  like  the  men,  for  not  one  of  our  family 
would  eat  an  Oyster  until  he  had  washed  it  in  the 
water. 

"But  we  poor  people  had  lots  of  trials.  Cross 
ing  the  streams  was  worst  of  all.  If  we  made  the 
Monkeys  bridge  from  tree  to  tree,  like  as  not  Py 
thon  would  be  lying  in  wait  to  pick  off  one  of  our 
number.  And  if  we  walked  across  on  the  bot 
tom -" 

"Walked  on  the  bottom!"  cried  Sa'-zada,  in 
astonishment, 


1 1  o  THE  SA'-ZADA  TALES 

"Yes,  we  never  swim;  we  always  walk  across 
on  the  bottom;  though,  sometimes,  of  course,  we 
floated  over  on  logs;  but  that  was  very  dangerous 
because  of  Magar  the  Crocodile." 

"Ghurrgle-ugle-ugle,  uh-hu!"  said  Sher-Abi, 
"the  long-tailed  one  is  right.  I  could  tell  a  true 
story  touching  that  matter.  Whuft-f-f !  but  it  was 
a  hot  day.  I  was  lying  with  my  wife  in  the  water 
near  the  bank.  I  was  hungry — I  am  always  hun 
gry;  and  getting  food  in  a  small  way  is  wearisome 
to  one  of  my  heavy  habit.  I  was  resting,  and 
Black-head  the  Magar  Bird  was  running  about 
inside  of  my  jaws  catching  Flies  for  his  dinner. 
And,  while  I  think  of  it,  while  I  am  by  no  means 
vain  of  my  sweet  nature,  I  claim  it  was  most  good 
of  me  to  hold  my  heavy  lips  open  for  him.  Sud 
denly  Black-head  gave  his  little  cry  of  warning  to 
me  and  flew  up  in  the  air.  'Something  is  coming,' 
I  whispered  to  Abni,  my  wife;  and,  sure  enough, 
it  was  the  Bandar-log,  the  Water  Monkeys,  chat 
tering  and  yelling,  and  knocking  down  fruit  from 
the  trees  as  though  the  whole  jungle  belonged  to 
them. 

"'The  old  trick,'  I  whispered  to  Abni;  'float 
across  like  a  log.'  You  know  I  can  look  wondrous 
like  a  log  when  I  try;  and  a  dinner  of  the  Bandar 
log,  even,  was  not  to  be  despised  in  a  time  of  great 
hunger. 

'  'Chee-chee,  a-houp-a-houp,  chickety-chee-chee !' 
You'd  have  thought  their  throats  would  split  with 


THE  STORY  OF  THE  MONKEYS    1 1 1 

the  uproar  when  they  saw  one  log  floating  across 
and  another  just  starting. 

'  'Oh,  ho!'  cried  the  leader,  swinging  by  his  tail 
from  a  limb  of  the  Mangrove  tree,  and  peering 
down  at  me;  'the  wind  is  driving  all  the  dead  trees 
from  this  side  to  the  other.  Get  aboard,  children, 
quick.'  And  they  all  clambered  on  to  my  back, 
shoving  and  pushing  like  a  lot  of  Jackal  pups " 

"Have  I  not  said  it,"  cried  Gidar,  the  Jackal, 
"that  Sher-Abi  is  a  devourer  of  our  young?  Jackal 
pups — murderer !" 

"Half  way  across,"  resumed  Sher-Abi,  "I  opened 
an  eye  to  take  a  squint  at  the  general  condition  of 
these  Bandar-log,  as  to  which  might  be  fat  and 
which  might  be  lean,  and,  would  you  believe  it,  the 
leader  of  these  fool  people  saw  me  looking,  and 
screamed  with  fright.  I  closed  all  the  valves  of 
nostrils  and  eyes  and  sank  in  the  water.  The 
Bandar-log  were  so  excited  that  more  than  half  of 
them  jumped  into  my  jaws,  and  Abni,  who  came 
back,  hearing  the  noise,  took  care  of  the  others. 
Eh-hu  !  Gluck !  Monkeys  are  stupid,  but  not  bad 
eating." 

"Listen  to  that,  Comrades,"  cried  Water 
Monkey.  "Sher-Abi  the  Poacher  boasts  of  killing 
my  people.  Have  I  not  said  that  our  life  is  one 
of  danger?  He  and  Python  are  as  bad  as  Men. 
My  mother  was  killed  by  a  Man,  and  all  for  the 
sake  of  a  few  mangoes." 

"But  how  are  we  to  know  that  Mango-tree  was 


1 1 2  THE  SA'-ZADA  TALES 

not  as  others  in  the  Jungle?"  pleaded  Monkey. 
"True  it  grew  close  to  a  bungalow,  but  what  of 
that?  Close  to  the  Jungle,  trees  and  bungalows 
are  so  mixed  up  that  nobody  knows  which  is  free 
land  and  which  is  bond  land.  Have  I  not  seen 
even  the  Men-kind  frightened  over  such  matters, 
and  killing  each  other.  But,  as  I  have  said,  this 
Man,  who  was  a  Sahib,  shot  my  mother  as  she  was 
in  a  tree.  She  clung  to  a  limb,  and,  young  as  I 
was,  I  helped  her,  holding  on  to  her  arms.  All 
day  she  cried,  and  cried,  and  cried,  just  as  you  have 
heard  the  young  of  the  Men-kind;  and  all  night 
she  cried,  too.  In  the  morning  the  Sahib  came  out, 
and  I  heard  him  say  that  he  hadn't  slept  all  night 
because  of  the  wailing  that  was  like  a  babe's.  When 
he  looked  up  at  my  mother  she  became  so  afraid 
that  she  fell  dead  at  his  feet.  Peeping  down 
through  the  leaves  I  saw  the  fear  look  that  Hathi 
has  spoken  of  come  into  the  Man's  eyes,  only  they 
did  not  look  evil  as  they  had  when  he  pointed  the 
fire-stick  at  us.  I  swung  down  from  branch  to 
branch  to  my  mother,  and  sitting  beside  her,  cried 
also,  being  but  a  little  chap  and  all  alone  in  the 
Jungle.  Then  the  Man  took  me  up  in  his  arms 
and  said:  'Poor  little  Oungea.  It  was  a  shame  to 
kill  the  old  girl;  I  feel  like  a  murderer ' 

"He  took  me  into  the  bungalow  and  I  had  a  fine 
life  of  it,  though  he  taught  me  many  things  that 
were  evil." 

"I  don't  believe  that,"  sneered  Pardus. 


"AND  SITTING  BESIDE  HER.  CRIED  ALSO,  BEING  BUT  A  LITTLE  CHAP  .\ND 
ALL  ALONE  IN  THE  JUNGLE 


THE  STORY  OF  THE  MONKEYS    1 13 

"Impossible  !    Caw-w  !"  laughed  Kauwa. 

"What  evil  tricks  are  there  left  to  teach  the 
Bandar-log?"  queried  Hathi. 

"He  taught  me  to  drink  gin,"  answered  Oungea ; 
"at  first  a  little  gin  and  much  sugar,  and  after  a 
time  I  could  take  it  without  sugar." 

"This  rather  bears  out  Magh's  claim  that  you 
Jungle  People  are  like  the  Men,"  said  Sa'.-zada. 

"Still  it  was  not  good  for  me,  this  gin,"  con 
tinued  Oungea;  "leaving  one's  head  full  of  much 
soreness  in  the  morning.  But,  of  course,  being 
young,  I  was  possessed  of  much  mischief  that  was 
not  of  the  Sahib's  teaching." 

"He-he !  no  doubt,  no  doubt,"  cried  Hornbill, 
"it  was  those  of  your  kind,  both  young  and  old, 
who  plucked  the  feathers  from  my  children  once 
upon  a  time.  Plaintain-at-a-gulp  !  but  their  appear 
ance  was  unseemly.  You  can  imagine  what  I 
should  look  like  with  my  prominent  nose  and  no 
feathers." 

"My  Master  carried  in  his  pocket  something 
that  was  forever  crying  'tick,  tick,  tick.'  I  felt 
sure  there  must  be  Lizards  or  Spiders,  or  other 
sweet  ones  of  a  small  kind  within;  but  one  day 
when  I  had  a  fair  opportunity  and  pulled  it  apart, 
cracking  it  with  a  stone  as  I  had  the  Oysters,  I  got 
no  eating  at  all,  but  in  the  end  a  sound  beating. 

"Once  I  ate  the  little  berries  that  grow  on  the 
sticks  that  cause  the  fire — 

"Matches,"  suggested  Sa'-zada. 


1 1 4  THE  SA'-ZADA  TALES 

'Perhaps;  I  thought  they  were  berries.  Many 
pains !  but  I  was  sick,  and  my  kind  Master  saved 
my  life  with  cocoanut  oil." 

"Magh  knows  something  of  that  matter,"  de 
clared  Sa'-zada;  "when  she  first  came  here  she  ate 
her  straw  bedding  and  it  nearly  killed  her." 

"A  fine  record  these  Jungle  People  have," 
sneered  Pardus.  "I,  who  claim  not  to  be  wise  like 
the  Men,  have  sense  enough  to  stick  to  my  meat." 

"But  Magh  was  wise,"  asserted  Sa'-zada,  "for 
if  she  had  not  helped  us  in  every  way  when  we 
were  trying  to  save  her  life  she  would  surely  have 
died." 

"In  my  Master's  house,"  said  Oungea,  "was  one 
of  their  young,  a  Babe;  and  whenever  I  got  loose, 
for  they  took  to  tying  me  up,  I  made  straight  for 
his  bed,  borrowed  his  bottle  of  milk — there  surely 
was  no  harm  in  that,  for  we  were  babes  together 
—and  scuttled  up  a  tree  where  I  could  drink  the 
milk  in  peace.  When  I  dropped  the  bottle  down 
so  that  they  might  get  it,  it  always  broke,  and  I 
think  it  was  because  of  this  mischief  that  they 
whipped  me." 

"Well,"  said  Sa-zada,  "we  were  to  have  learned 
to-night  why  the  Bandar-log  were  Men  of  the  Jun 
gle,  first  cousins  to  the  Men-kind;  but  all  I  remem 
ber  is  that  they  ate  matches  and  straw  and  got  very 
sick.  For  my  part  I  am  very  sleepy." 

"If  you  are  tired,  I  will  carry  you,  Hanuman," 
lisped  Python,  shoving  his  ugly  fat  head  forward. 


THE  STORY  OF  THE  MONKEYS    1 1 5 

"Even  I,  who  find  it  a  labor  to  walk  on  the  land, 
will  give  any  Monkey  who  seeks  it  a  ride,"  sighed 
Sher-Abi.  "This  talking  of  eating  has  made  me 

hung I  mean  ready  to  put  myself  out  for  my 

friends." 

"Take  your  friends  in,  you  mean,"  snarled 
Gidar,  jumping  back  as  the  heavy  jaws  of  the 
Crocodile  snapped  within  an  inch  of  his  nose. 

"I  think  each  one  will  look  after  himself,"  de 
clared  Sa'-zada;  "it  will  be  safer.  All  to  your 
cages." 


Seventh  Night 

The   Story   of  Birds   of    a    Feather 


A 


) 


SEVENTH  NIGHT 

THE   STORY   OF   BIRDS   OF   A    FEATHER 

WHEN  Sa'-zada  the  Keeper  had  gathered 
all  his  comrades  in  front  of  Chita's  cage 
for  the  evening  of  the  Bird  talk,  Magh  clambered 
up  on  her  usual  perch,  Hathi's  head,  expostulating 
against  the  folly  of  throwing  the  meeting  open  to 
such  gabblers. 

"Never  mind,"  remarked  Black  Panther,  "it's 
the  great  talkers  that  are  thought  most  of  here,  I 
see.  We,  who  have  accomplished  much,  having 
earned  an  honest  living,  but  are  not  over  ready  with 
the  tongue,  amount  to  but  little." 

"Scree-he-ah-h !"  cried  Cockatoo.  "By  my  crest ! 
I  am  surely  the  oldest  one  here;  shall  I  begin,  O 
Sa'zada?" 

"Cockatoo  was  born  in  Australia,"  declared  Sa' 
zada;  "at  least  The  Book  says  so,  but  the  record 
of  his  age  only  goes  back  a  matter  of  forty  years." 

"Just  so,"  concurred  the  Cockatoo,  "and  from 
there  I  went  to  India  on  a  ship;  and  for  downright 
evil  words  there  is  no  Jungle  to  compare  with  a 

119 


1 20  THE  SA'-ZADA  TALES 

ship.  Why,  damn  it — excuse  me,  friends,  even  the 
memory  of  my  voyage  causes  me  to  swear. 

"My  master,  who  was  Captain  of  the  ship,  gave 
me  to  one  of  the  Women-kind  in  Calcutta — 'Mem- 
Sahib'  the  others  called  her.  There  I  had  just  the 
loveliest  life  any  poor  exiled  Cockatoo  could  wish 
for;  it  makes  me  swear — weep,  I  mean — when  I 
think  of  the  sweet  Eatings  she  had  for  me.  Not 
but  that  Sa'-zada  is  kind,  only  no  one  but  a  Woman 
knows  how  to  look  after  a  Cockatoo.  At  tiffin  I 
was  always  allowed  to  come  on  the  table,  and  the 
Mem-Sahib  would  take  the  cream  from  the  top  of 
the  milk  and  give  it  to  me.  The  Sahib  threw 
pieces  of  bread  at  my  head,  which  is  like  a  Man's 
way,  having  no  regard  for  the  dignity  of  a 
Cockatoo. 

"One  day,  being  frightened  because  of  some 
thing,  I  fluttered  to  the  top  of  his  head,  which  was 
all  bare  of  feathers,  and  verily  I  believe  the  Man- 
fear,  of  which  Hathi  has  spoken,  came  to  my  new 
master.  I  could  almost  fancy  I  was  back  on  the 
ship,  for  his  language  was  much  like  that  of  the 
fo'castle. 

"Potai  was  the  sweeper,  a  low-caste  Hindoo  of 
an  evil  presence;  and  save  for  the  fact  that  he  wore 
no  foot-covering  I  should  have  been  in  a  bad  way. 
When  the  Mem-Sahib  was  not  looking  he  beat  me 
with  his  broom,  simply  because,  that  often  being 
lonesome,  I'd  call  aloud,  'Potai !  Potai !'  just  to 
see  him  come  running  from  the  stables. 


STORY  OF  BIRDS  OF  A  FEATHER  121 

"Thinking  to  break  him  of  his  evil  habit  of 
beating  me,  many  times  I  hid  behind  the  purda  of 
a  door  waiting  for  the  coming  of  his  ugly  toes. 
Swisp !  swisp !  I'd  hear  the  broom;  'Uh-h,  uh-h!' 
old  Potai  would  grunt,  because  of  the  stooping,  and 
presently  under  the  purda,  which  hung  straight 
down,  would  peep  his  low-caste  toes. 

"Click!  just  like  that  I'd  nip  quick,  and  run  for 
the  Mem-Sahib,  screaming  that  Potai  was  beating 
me.  I'm  sure  it  was  not  an  evil  act  on  my  part, 
for  if  any  Sahib  saw  it  he  would  laugh,  and  give 
me  nuts  or  something  sweet.  That  was  because 
everyone  knew  that  Potai  was  evil  and  of  a  low 
caste. 

"Many  a  time  I  saved  the  tiffin  from  the  thiev 
ing  crows " 

"Caw-w-w,  what-a  yar-r-r-n!"  growled  Kauwa 
the  Crow.  "We  who  are  the  cleaners  of  cities  are 
not  thieves.  What  is  a  Cockatoo?  A  teller  of 
false  tales  and  a  breaker  of  rest." 

"Ca-lack!  even  what  Cockatoo  has  said  of 
Kauwa  is  true,"  declared  the  Adjutant,  solemnly, 
snapping  his  sword  in  its  scabbard;  "I,  who  am  the 
cleaner  of  cities,  consider  Kauwa  but  a  thief.  Once 
many  of  the  Seven  Sisters,  for  that  is  the  evil  name 
of  Kauwa's  tribe,  stole  a  full-flavored  fish  from  my 
very  teeth — 

"Aw,  aw,  aw !  let  me  tell  it,  let  me  tell  it,"  cried 
Kauwa;  "let  me  tell  the  true  tale  of  my  solemn 
friend's  stealing." 


1 2  2  THE  SA'-ZADA  TALES 

"Now  we  shall  get  at  the  real  history  of  the 
Feathered  Kind,"  chuckled  Pardus.  "When  the 
Jungle  Dwellers  fall  out  amongst  themselves  and 
make  much  clatter,  there  is  always  the  chance  of 
an  easy  Kill." 

"Caw-aw-aw  !  It  was  this  way,"  fairly  snapped 
Crow.  "A  seller  of  small  things,  a  box  ivallah,walk- 
ing  in  an  honest  way  fast  after  the  palki  of  a  great 
Sahib,  even  on  the  Red  Road  of  Calcutta,  by  chance 
was  struck  by  another  palki  and  his  box  of  many 
things  thrown  to  the  ground.  Then  this  honest 
one  of  the  straight  face,  Adjutant,  seeing  the  mis 
hap  from  his  perch  on  the  lion  which  is  over  the 
Viceroy's  gate,  swooped  down  like  a  proper  Da- 
coit  and  swallowed  some  brown  Eating  which  was 
like  squares  of  butter,  and  made  haste  back  to  his 
perch.  Even  a  Crow  would  have  known  better 
than  that,  for  it  was  soap.  And  all  day  many  of 
the  Men-kind  stood  and  looked  at  our  baldheaded 
friend,  for  a  great  sickness  came  to  him;  and  as 
he  coughed,  soap-bubbles  floated  upward.  The 
Hindoos  said  it  was  a  work  of  their  gods." 

"Just  what  I  thought,"  grunted  Pardus;  "all 
clatter,  and  no  true  story  of  anything." 

"Well,"  sighed  Cockatoo  wearily,  "my  Mem* 
Sahib  always  put  me  in  a  little  house  on  the  ver 
anda  at  night.  Though  I  didn't  like  it  at  all,  still 
it  was  my  house,  and  one  day,  in  the  midst  of  a 
rain,  when  I  sought  to  enter,  inside  were  two  of 
the  Cat  young." 


"AND  AS  HE  COUGHED,  SOAP  BUBBLES  FLOATED  UPWARD." 


STORY  OF  BIRDS  OF  A  FEATHER  123 

"Kittens?"   queried  Sa'-zada. 

"Ee-he-ah;  and  just  behind  me  the  old  Cat  with 
another  in  her  mouth.  Hard  nuts  !  but  such  a  row 
you  never  heard  in  your  life.  When  I  tried  to 
drag  the  Kittens  out,  the  Cat  dug  her  beak " 

"Claws,  you  mean,"  corrected  Sa'-zada. 

"Ee-he-ah — claws  in  my  back;  but  the  Mem- 
Sahib  took  them  away." 

"Ugh,  ugh  !  all  lies  !  Bird  talk !"  grunted  Boar. 
"What  say  you,  Sa'-zada?" 

"It  is  true,"  declared  the  Keeper,  much  to  the 
disgust  of  his  questioner ;  "for  in  The  Book  are  also 
other  true  tales  of  Cockatoo.  The  Mem-Sahib  has 
written  that  he  was  a  great  mischief-maker.  She 
says  that  on  the  back  veranda  of  her  bungalow  was 
a  filter,  and  when  'Cocky'  wanted  a  bath,  he  used 
to  turn  the  tap,  but  never  knew  enough  to  shut  it 
off,  so  the  filter  was  always  running  dry. 

"Also,  there  was  a  guava  tree  in  the  compound, 
and  our  friend  ate  all  the  guavas  just  as  they  rip 
ened,  so  no  one  but  Cocky  got  any  of  the  fruit. 
That  he  was  always  fighting  with  Jock,  her  Scotch 
Terrier,  and  the  clamor  fair  made  her  head  ache." 

"Whatever  Sa'-zada  reads  from  The  Book  is 
most  certainly  true,"  commented  Magh. 

"I've  been  thinking,"  began  the  Adjutant, 
solemnly 

"You  look  like  it,"  growled  Wolf. 

"Of  a  story  about  Kauwa,"  continued  the 
Adjutant 


1 24  THE  SA'-ZADA  TALES 

"He  stole  three  silver  spoons  from  my  Mem- 
Sahib,"  interrupted  Cocky  hastily,  suddenly  re 
membering  the  incident,  "and  hid  them  in  the  Dog 
cart,  where  they  were  found  next  day ;  which  shows 
that  he  is  neither  wrise  nor  honest." 

"Mine  is  a  true  tale,"  declared  Adjutant,  with 
great  dignity.  "One  morning,  looking  calmly  over 
the  great  city  to  see  that  all  had  been  tidied  up, 
I  saw  my  little  black  friend,  whose  voice  is  like 
unto  the  squeak  of  a  Bullock-cart,  crouched  in  an 
open  window,  \vith  wings  well  spread  ready  for 
flight. 

'  'A  new  piece  of  thieving,'  thought  I,  and, 
drawing  closer,  I  saw  Kauwa  hop  to  the  floor,  pass 
over  to  a  bed  on  which  slept  a  Sahib,  and  gently 
take  a  slice  of  toast  from  the  top  of  a  cup ;  then 
away  went  the  thief. 

"But  the  full  wickedness  was  later,  for  when  the 
Sahib  awoke  he  spoke  to  his  servant  in  the  manner 
which  Cockatoo  has  related  of  the  ship.  And  when 
the  other,  who  was  of  the  Black  Kind,  declared 
he  had  put  the  toast  beside  his  Master,  the  Sahib 
beat  him  for  a  liar.  Even  three  mornings  did 
Kauwa  take  the  toast;  but  on  the  fourth  the  Sahib, 
who  was  pretending  to  sleep,  nearly  broke  his  back 
with  the  cast  of  a  boot." 

"Jungle  Dwellers  are  Jungle  Dwellers,  and  City 
Dwellers  are  City  Dwellers,"  commenced  Horn- 
bill,  gravely,  "and  I'm  so  glad  I'm  a  Jungle 
Dweller.  These  tales  show  what  city  life  is  like. 


"LEAVING  JUST  A  PLACE  FOR  HER  SHARP  BEAK." 


STORY  OF  BIRDS  OF  A  FEATHER  125 

Save  for  an  occasional  row  with  Magh's  friends, 
Hanuman  and  the  rest,  whose  stomachs  are  out  of 
all  proportion  to  the  quantity  of  fruit  to  be  had, 
I  have  led  a  very  peaceful  life  in  the  Jungle." 

"Tell  me,"  queried  Magh,  maliciously,  "do  your 
Young  roost  on  your  nose?" 

"No;  that  is  to  keep  inquisitive  folks  at  a  dis 
tance.  And,  talking  of  Young,  when  my  wife  has 
laid  her  two  big  eggs  in  a  hole  in  some  tree,  I  shut 
her  up  there  with  the  eggs — make  her  stay  home 
to  mind  the  house  and  the  oncoming  family.  I 
plaster  up  the  hole  with  mud,  leaving  just  a  place 
for  her  sharp  beak;  this  to  keep  the  Monkeys  from 
stealing  her  and  the  eggs." 

"Kaw-aw-aw !  Talking  of  nests,"  said  Kauwa, 
"when  I  was  in  Calcutta  I  designed  a  nest  that 
would  last  forever — yes,  forever.  Each  year  be 
fore  that  time,  because  of  the  monsoon  winds,  my 
nest  had  always  been  destroyed;  but  the  time  I 
speak  of,  having  a  job  on  hand — 

"On  beak,  you  mean!"  laughed  Sa'-zada. 

"Aw-haw ! — to  clean  up  about  a  cook-house  be 
hind  a  certain  place  of  the  Sahib's  in  which  they 
bottled  water  of  a  fierce  strength — as  I  say,  being 
busy  in  this  same  compound,  I  spied  many,  many 
twigs  of  wire." 

"What's  wire?"  asked  Mooswa;  "I've  never, 
that  I  know  of,  eaten  such  twigs." 

Sa'-zada  explained,  "Kauwa  means  bottled  soda 
water,  I  fancy,  and  the  wire  from  the  corks." 


126  THE  SA'-ZADA  TALES 

"A  thought  came  to  me,"  continued  Kauwa,  "to 
build  my  nest  of  these  bright  little  things,  and  I 
did,  first  getting  my  mate's  opinion  on  the  matter, 
of  course.  Dead  Pigs !  but  it  was  a  nest !  We 
would  swing,  and  jump,  and  hang  to  it  by  our 
beaks,  and  never  a  break  in  the  wall.  But  I  had 
forgotten  all  about  the  selfish  desire  of  the  Men 
—but  that  was  after.  The  first  trouble  was  wrhen 
Cuckoo — a  proper  budmash  bird  she  is — came  and 
laid  two  eggs  in  the  nest.  I  saw  the  difference  in 
the  eggs  at  once,  but  my  mate  declared  that  they 
were  all  her  own  laying.  She  took  rather  a  pride 
in  her  ability  to  lay  eggs — to  tell  you  the  truth, 
we  quarreled  over  it." 

"I  believe  that,"  yawned  Adjutant. 

"However,  she  had  her  way,  and  started  to 
hatch  out  these  foreign  devils;  but  the  Men,  as 
I  have  said,  seeing  my  beautiful  nest,  sent  a  Man 
of  low  caste  up  the  tree,  and  he  took  it  away, 
Cuckoo  eggs  and  all.  It  was  a  good  joke  on  the 
Cuckoo  Bird,  and  I  was  so  mad  at  the  way  every 
thing  turned  out,  Caw-ha  !  I  never  made  it  again." 

"I  can  swallow  a  plantain  at  one  gulp,"  said 
Hornbill  proudly. 

"Why  do  you  toss  it  up  first?"  asked  Sa'-zada, 
alluding  to  the  peculiar  habit  the  Hornbill  has  of 
throwing  everything  into  the  air,  and  catching  it 
as  he  swallows  it. 

"It's  all  in  the  way  of  slow  eating,"  answered 
Hornbill. 


STORY  OF  BIRDS  OF  A  FEATHER  127 

"Now,"  said  Myna,  "it  is  surely  my  turn.  I, 
Myna,  who  was  the  pride  of  the  Calcutta  Zoo  in 
the  matter  of  speech,  have  sat  here  like  a  Tucktoo 
not  saying  a  word,  and  listening  to  such  as  Cocka 
too  boasting  about  the  few  paltry  oaths  he  picked 
up  from  the  Sailor-kind.  Why,  damn  your  eyes, 
sir " 

And  before  Sa'-zada  could  still  the  tumult, 
Cockatoo  and  Myna,  the  best  talking  Bird  of  all 
India,  were  hurling  the  most  unparliamentary  lan 
guage  at  each  other  that  had  ever  been  bandied 
about  a  Bird  gathering. 

When  Sa'-zada  had  stopped  the  indelicate  scold 
ing  of  the  two  Birds  Myna  proceeded  to  tell  of 
his  life. 

"I  was  born  in  the  Burma  hills,  amongst  the 
Shans.  That's  where  I  got  my  beautiful  blue-black 
coat  and  lovely  yellow  beak." 

"Modest  Bird,"  sneered  Magh. 

"It  was  Mah  Thin  who  snared  me;  but  she  was 
good  to  me,  though — rice  and  fruit,  all  I  could  eat ; 
and  she  never  once  forgot  to  put  the  turmeric  and 
ground  chillies  in  my  rice;  for,  you  know,  if  I  did 
not  get  something  hot  in  my  food  I'd  soon  die.  I 
was  somewhat  like  Cockatoo  in  that  a  Ship-man 
bought  me  and  took  me  to  Calcutta.  He  made  me  a 
most  wise  bird,  and  taught  me  many  clever  sayings. 
And  when  he  was  in  Calcutta  with  his  ship  I  would 
be  put  in  the  Zoo,  so  that  the  Sahibs  from  all  parts 
might  hear  my  speech. 


128  THE  SA'-ZADA  TALES 

"One  day  Tom — that  was  my  master's  name; 
he  taught  me  to  call  him  Tom — said  to  me,  'To 
morrow  the  Lat  Sahib,  the  Sirdar,  and  many  ladies 
are  coming  to  hear  you  talk;  Myna.'  Then  he 
made  me  repeat  over  and  over  again,  'Good-morn 
ing,  your  Excellency.'  ' 

"It  was  a  hard  word  he  gave  you,"  commented 
Magh. 

"It  was  indeed.  Let  claw-nosed  Cockatoo  try  it; 
he  thinks  he  can  talk — let  him  try  that." 

"Avast  there,  you  lubber —  commenced 

Cocky,  but  Sa'-zada  stopped  him. 

"Well,  I  said  it  over  and  over,  and  over  again, 
and  Tom  was  so  pleased  he  gave  me  a  graft  mango 
to  eat.  Next  day  the  Viceroy  and  many  Mem- 
Sahibs  and  Sahibs  gathered  about  my  cage,  and  the 
Viceroy  said,  'Good-morning,  Polly.'  Now  this 
made  me  mad — to  be  called  Polly,  as  though  I  had 
a  hooked  nose  like  Cockatoo;  and  in  my  anger 
I  got  excited,  and,  for-the-love-of-hot-spiced-rice,  I 
couldn't  think  of  what  Tom  had  told  me  to  say. 

'  'Speak  up  !'  said  Tom. 

"In  my  anger,  and  forgetting  the  other  thing, 
and  seeing  so  many  strange  faces  against  the  very 
bars  of  my  cage,  I  blurted  out,  Til  see  you  damned 
first!'  just  as  the  sailors  used  to  teach  me." 

"Caw-haw-haw-haw!  Very  funny,  indeed. 
Next  to  a  fat  bone,  or  the  hiding  of  a  silver  spoon, 
I  like  a  joke  myself,"  commented  Kauwa.  "Once 
at  the  first  edge  of  the  Hot  Time  I  went  to  Simla. 


STORY  OF  BIRDS  OF  A  FEATHER  129 

That  was  also  at  the  time  of  the  going  of  the 
Sahibs,  but  after  Calcutta  it  was  dull — fair  stupid. 

"One  morning,  as  I  was  feeling  most  lonesome, 
I  spied  a  long  row  of  queer  little  Donkeys  stand 
ing  with  their  tails  to  a  fence.  They  had  brought 
loads  of  brick.  I  flew  to  the  fence,  and  reaching 
far  clown,  pulled  the  tail  of  my  first  Donkey.  Much 
food  !  but  he  did  kick — it  made  me  laugh.  I  pulled 
the  tale  of  every  Donkey  of  the  line,  and  when  I 
had  finished  there  wasn't  a  board  left  on  the  fence. 
Then  the  Man  who  was  master  of  the  fence,  and 
the  one  that  was  master  of  the  Donkeys,  fought 
over  this  matter,  and  pulled  each  about  by  the 
feathers  that  were  on  their  heads.  It  was  the  only 
real  pleasant  day  I  had  in  Simla." 

"Did-you-do-it !"  screamed  the  Redwattled  Lap 
wing,  suddenly  roused  to  animation  by  falling  off 
Mooswa's  back,  where  he  had  been  trying  to  bal 
ance  himself  with  his  poor  front-toed  feet. 

"Caw-w-w !  I  did;  and  for  three  grains  of  corn 
I'd  pull  your  tail,  too." 

"I  wasn't  speaking  to  you,"  retorted  Titiri  the 
Lapwing;  "I  was  dreaming  of  my  old  home  in  In 
dia — dreaming  that  the  hunters  had  come  into  the 
rice  fields  to  shoot  the  poor  Paddy  Birds  and  Ba- 
kula  (Egret)  for  their  feathers." 

"Murderers,  you  should  call  them,  not  Hunt 
ers,"  exclaimed  Hathi.  "It  makes  me  sniff  in  my 
nose  now  when  I  think  of  the  Birds  I've  seen  mur 
dered,  just  for  their  feathers." 


1 30  THE  SA'-ZADA  TALES 

"It's  an  outrageous  shame,"  declared  Sa'-zada. 

"I  did  all  I  could,"  asserted  Lapwing.  "When 
I  saw  the  Gun-men  coming,  sneaking  along, 
crouched  like  Pardus •" 

"Sneaking  like  Pardus — go  on,  Good  Bird!" 
chimed  in  Magh. 

"I  flew  just  ahead  of  them,  and  cried  'Tee-he-he  ! 
Here  come  the  Murderers!'  so  that  every  bird  in 
all  the  jhils  about  could  hear  me.  And  when  Ba- 
kula,  and  Kowar  the  Ibis,  and  all  the  others  had 
flown  to  safety,  I  shouted,  'Did-you-do-it,  did-you- 
do-it!'  Then  the  Men  used  language  much  like 
the  disgraceful  talk  we  have  had  from  Cocky  and 
Myna  to-night." 

"You  carried  a  heavy  responsibility,"  remarked 
Sa'-zada. 

"All  lies,"  sneered  Kauwa.  "Fat  Bones!  why, 
he  can't  even  sit  on  the  limb  of  a  tree." 

"That  is  because  of  my  feet,"  sighed  Lapwing. 
"I  have  no  toes  behind." 

"Where  do  you  sleep?"  asked  Magh. 

"On  the  ground,"  answered  Lapwing. 

"That's  so,"  declared  Sa'-zada,  "for  the  Natives 
of  the  East  say  that  Titiri  sleeps  on  his  back,  and 
holds  up  the  sky  with  his  feet." 

"But  why  should  the  Men  kill  Birds  for  a  few 
feathers?"  croaked  Vulture.  "I  don't  believe  it. 
Nobody  asked  me  for  one  of  mine.  In  fact  the 
great  trouble  of  all  eating  is  the  feathers  or  skin." 

"Whe-eh-eh !"    exclaimed   Ostrich,    disgustedly. 


STORY  OF  BIRDS  OF  A  FEATHER  131 

"Pheu  !  your  feathers  !  Even  your  head  looks  like  a 
boiled  Lobster.  They  do  not  kill  me — the  Men — 
but  I  know  they  are  crazy  for  feathers,  for  they 
pull  mine  all  out.  Some  day  I'll  give  one  of  them  a 
kick  that  will  cure  him  of  his  feather  fancy.  I 
did  rake  one  from  beak  to  feet  once  with  my  strong 
toe  nail.  When  I  bring  a  foot  up  over  my  head 
and  down  like  this — 

As  Ostrich  swung  his  leg  every  one  skurried  out 
of  the  way,  for  they  knew  it  was  like  a  sword 
descending. 

"Yes,"  cried  Magh,  "if  you  only  had  a  brain 
the  size  of  that  toe-nail— 

"Stop  it!"  cried  Sa'-zada,  for  this  was  an  un 
pleasant  truth;  Ostrich,  though  such  a  huge  fellow 
himself,  has  a  brain  about  the  size  of  a  Humming 
Bird's. 

"Talking  of  Wives,"  said  Ostrich,  with  the  most 
extraordinary  irrelevance,  "mine  died  when  I  was 
twenty-seven  years  old;  and,  of  course,  as  it  is  the 
way  with  us  Birds,  I  never  took  up  with  another, 
though  I've  seen  the  most  beautifully  feathered 
ones  of  our  Kind — quite  enough  to  make  one's 
mouth  water. 

"She  had  queer  ways,  to  be  sure — my  wife.  As 
you  all  know,  our  way  of  hatching  eggs  is  turn 
about,  the  Mother  Birds  sitting  all  day,  while  we 
Lords  of  the  Nest  sit  at  night.  But  my  wife  would 
take  notions  sometimes  and  not  sit  at  all.  In  that 
case  I  always  sat  night  and  day*  until  the  job  was 


1 3  2  THE  SA'-ZAD A  TALES 

finished.  By-a-sore-breast-bone !  but  making  a 
nest  in  the  hard-graveled  desert  is  a  job  to  be 
avoided." 

"Sore  knuckles!"  exclaimed  Magh,  "where  are 
we  at?  We  were  talking  of  feathers." 

"So  we  were,  so  we  were,"  decided  Mooswa. 
"And  what  I  want  to  know  is,  do  the  Men  eat  the 
feathers  they  hunt  for?" 

"Oh,  Jungle  Dwellers!"  exclaimed  Magh;  "if 
you  were  to  sit  in  my  cage  for  half  a  day  you  would 
see  what  they  do  with  them.  The  Women  come 
there  with  their  heads  covered  with  all  kinds  of 
feathers,  red,  and  green,  and  blue — Silly!  how 
would  I  look  with  my  head  stuck  full  of  funny  old 
feathers?" 

"Like  the  Devil !"  exclaimed  Sa'-zada. 

"Like  a  Woman,"  retorted  Magh.  "And  their 
hair  is  so  pretty,  too.  I've  seen  red  hair  just  like 
mine,  and  then  to  cover  it  up  with  a  crest  of  feath 
ers  like  Cockatoo  wears;  I'd  be  ashamed  of  the 
thing." 

"It's  a  sin  to  murder  the  Birds,"  whimpered 
Mooswa;  "that's  the  worst  part  of  it." 

"Tonk,  tonk,  tonk!"  came  a  noise  just  like  a 
small  Boy  striking  an  iron  telegraph  post  with  a 
stick.  It  was  the  small  Coppersmith  Bird  clearing 
his  throat.  Very  funny  the  green  pudgy  little  chap 
looked  with  his  big  black  mustaches. 

"The  Men  are  great  thieves,"  he  asserted. 
"When  I  wras  a  chick  my  Mother  taught  me  to 


STORY  OF  BIRDS  OF  A  FEATHER  133 

stick  my  tail  under  my  wings  for  fear  they  would 
steal  the  feathers  as  I  slept." 

"Steal  tail  feathers  !"  screamed  Eagle;  "I  should 
say  they  would.  Out  in  the  West,  where  was  my 
home,  when  a  Man  becomes  a  great  Chief  he  sticks 
three  of  my  tail  feathers  in  his  hair;  and  when  the 
Head  Chief  of  a  great  Indian  tribe  rises  up  to  make 
a  big  talk,  what  does  he  hold  in  his  hand?  The 
things  that  are  bright  like  water-drops — 

"Diamond  rings,"  exclaimed  Sa'-zada,  in 
terrupting. 

"No;  he  holds  one  of  my  wings  to  show  that 
he  is  great." 

"Yes,  you  are  the  King  Bird,  Eagle,"  concurred 
Sa'-zada,  "the  emblem  of  our  country." 

"I  can  break  a  lamb's  back  with  my  talons," 
assented  Eagle,  ignoring  the  sublime  disdainfully, 
"but  I  wouldn't  trust  my  nest  within  reach  of  any 
Man — they're  a  lot  of  thieves." 

"Nice  feathers  are  a  great  trouble,"  asserted 
Sparrow;  "I'm  glad  I  haven't  any." 

"What  difference  does  it  make?"  cried  Quail; 
"the  Men  kill  me,  and  I'm  sure  I'm  not  gaudy." 

"You're  good  eating,  though,"  chuckled  Gidar 
the  Jackal.  "After  a  day's  shoot  of  the  Men-kind, 
the  scent  from  their  cook-house  is  fair  maddening. 
Oh-h-h,  ki-yi !  I've  had  many  a  Quail  bone  in  my 
time." 

"Even  Lapwing  can't  save  us  from  the  Hunt 
ers,"  lamented  Quail ;  "they  play  us  such  vile  tricks. 


134  THE  SA'-ZADA  TALES 

I've  seen  a  rice  field  with  a  dozen  bamboos  stuck 
in  it,  and  on  top  of  each  bamboo  a  cage  with  a 
tame  Cock  Quail;  and  in  the  center,  hidden  away, 
sat  a  man  with  a  little  drum  which  he  tapped  with 
his  fingers.  And  the  drum  would  whistle  'peep, 
peep,  peep,'  and  the  Birds  in  the  cages  would  go 
'peep,  peep,  peep,'  and  we  Cock  Birds  of  the  Jun 
gle,  thinking  it  a  challenge  to  battle,  would  answer 
back,  'peep,  peep,  peep,'  and  go  seeking  out  these 
strange  Birds  who  were  calling  for  fight.  Of 
course,  our  Wives  would  go  with  us  to  see  the 
battle,  and  in  the  end  all  would  be  snared  or  shot 
by  the  deceitful  Men." 

"That's  almost  worse  than  being  taken  for  one's 
feathers,"  said  Egret.  "I'm  glad  they  don't 
eat  me." 

"No  Mussulman  would  eat  you,  Buff  Egret," 
said  Gidar  the  Jackal.  "It's  because  of  your  habit 
of  picking  ticks  off  the  Pigs." 

"Some  Birds  do  have  vile  habits,"  declared 
Crow.  "Paddy  Bird  has  a  Brother  in  Burma  who 
gets  drunk  on  the  Men's  toddy." 

"I  doubt  if  that  be  true,"  said  Sa'-zada,  "though 
he  is  really  called  'Bacchus'  in  the  science  books." 

Said  Myna,  "Of  all  Birds,  I  think  the  Jungle 
Fowl  are  the  worst.  The  Cocks  do  nothing  but 
fight,  fight,  all  the  time — fight,  and  then  get  up  in 
a  tree  and  crow  about  it,  as  though  it  were  to  their 
credit." 

Said  Kauwa  the  Crow,  "When  one  of  our  family 


STORY  OF  BIRDS  OF  A  FEATHER  135 

becomes  quarrelsome,  or  a 'great  nuisance,  we  hold 
a  meeting — I  have  seen  even  a  thousand  Crows  at 
such  meetings — hear  all  there  is  to  say  about  him, 
and  then  if  it  appears  that  he  is  utterly  bad  we  beat 
him  to  death." 

"Tub-full-of-bread!"  exclaimed  Hathi,  sleepily, 
"it's  my  opinion  that  all  Birds  should  be  on  their 
roosts — it's  very  late." 

"And  roost  high,  too,"  said  Magh,  "for  Coy 
ote  and  Gidar  have  been  licking  their  chops  for 
the  last  hour.  I've  watched  them.  And  lock 
Python  up,  O  Sa'-zada,  for  high  roosts  won't  save 
them  from  him." 

"All  to  bed,  all  to  bed !"  cried  the  Keeper.  "To 
morrow  night  we'll  have  some  more  tales." 

The  last  cry  heard  on  the  sleepy  night  air  after 
all  were  safely  in  their  cages  was  Cockatoo's  "Avast 
there,  you  lubber!"  as  Myna,  sticking  his  saucy 
yellow  beak  through  the  bars  of  his  cage,  called 
across  to  him,  "Want  a  glass  of  grog,  Polly?" 


Eighth   Night 

The   Stories   of  Buffalo   and    Bison 


•dr. 


EIGHTH  NIGHT 

THE  STORIES  OF  BUFFALO  AND  BISON 

THIS  evening  the  whole  Buffalo  herd  had 
come  out  of  the  park  to  the  meeting-place 
in  front  of  Chita's  cage;  even  their  brother,  the 
Indian  Bison,  was  there,  as  also  was  the  true  Buf 
falo,  Bos  Bubalus. 

Said  Sa'-zada,  opening  his  book:  "We  should 
learn  much  this  evening,  for  Buffalo  and  Bison  are 
to  tell  us  of  their  lives.  But  first,  let  me  put  you 
all  right  as  to  their  names.  Those  we  have  called 
Buffalo,  from  our  own  western  prairies,  are  not 
Buffalo  at  all,  but  Bison,  half-brother  of  Gaur,  who 
also  lives  in  India,  where  the  true  Buffalo  comes 
from." 

"It  does  not  matter,"  said  Buff,  the  prairie 
Bison,  "it  does  not  matter  what  I'm  called,  seems 
to  me,  for  all  my  life  I  have  been  most  badly 
treated.  Why,  it  seems  no  time  since  I  was  a  calf, 
one  of  a  mighty  herd,  on  the  sweet-grassed  prairie, 
and  in  those  days  I  thought  there  was  nothing  in 
the  world  like  being  a  Buffalo. 

"The  first  touch  of  danger  I  remember  came  in 

'39 


1 40  THE  SA'-ZADA  TALES 

this  way.  The  herd  had  tracked,  one  after  an 
other,  all  walking  in  the  same  narrow  path,  down  to 
a  hollow  in  which  was  water.  I  was  feeling  frisky, 
and,  seeing  something  move,  something  that 
seemed  very  like  a  calf,  smaller  than  myself,  I  ran 
after  it,  cocking  my  tail,  kicking  my  heels  in  the 
air,  and  thinking  it  great  sport;  for,  Comrades,  the 
great  weakness  of  all  grass-feeders  is  an  idle  cu 
riosity." 

"And  did  all  this  happen  wrhen  you  had  your 
tail  kinked  in  the  air,  that  time  you  were  a 
silly  calf?"  jibed  Magh,  holding  a  peanut  out 
on  her  under  lip,  and  looking  down  at  it  very 
sedately,  as  though  the  subject  were  of  little 
interest. 

"I'll  tell  you  my  story  in  my  own  way,"  declared 
Buff.  "The  thing  that  I  followed  was  like  a  grey 
shadow,  and  slipped  about  with  no  noise,  but  when 
I  came  close  to  it,  with  a  vicious  snarl  it  sprang  up, 
and  also  there  were  three  others  hidden  in  the 
grass.  Much  milk!  but  I  became  afraid,  and  I  be 
lieve  I  bawled.  Just  then  I  felt  the  ground  trem 
ble,  and  a  dozen  of  the  herd  galloped  towards 
me  with  their  heads  down.  It  was  a  \volf,  and 
help  came  just  in  time,  for  the  big  fangs  of  the 
fierce  brute  cut  my  hind  leg  a  little  where  he  sought 
to  hamstring  me. 

"Then  Mother  explained,  first  bunting  me 
soundly  with  her  forehead,  then  licking  me  with 
her  coarse  tongue,  that  these  Wolves  were  always 


BUFFALO  AND  BISON  141 

following  up  the  Herd,  trying  to  catch  a  Calf,  or 
sick  Cow,  or  old  Bull,  to  one  side." 

"We  have  Wolves  in  India,  too,"  said  Arna, 
"and  Chita  the  Leopard,  and  Bagh  the  Tiger. 
Blood  drinkers!  but  we  have  many  enemies  there; 
even  Cobra  will  hardly  get  out  of  the  way  seeking 
to  carry  to  one's  blood  his  sudden  death.  There 
are  no  animals  so  ill  used,  I  believe,  as  Buffalo. 

"One  has  need  of  big  Horns  in  the  heart  of  the 
Jungle.  Wrhy,  mine  measure  nine  feet  and  a  half 
from  tip  to  tip  across  my  forehead.  And  see  the 
strength  of  them,  fully  the  size  of  Bagh's  leg — 
for  I  am  a  Curly  Horn,  which  means  one  of  great 
strength.  Never  have  I  locked  Horns  with  a  Bull 
that  I  have  not  twisted  his  neck  till  he  bellowed. 
Eugh-hu,  eugh !  Next  to  lying  in  muddy  water 
with  one's  nose  just  peeping  out,  there's  nothing  so 
pleasant  as  a  trial  of  strength.  And  with  all  re 
spect  to  Hathi's  handiness  of  trunk,  I  must  say  I 
prefer  good,  stout  Horns.  When  Bagh  or  Pardus 
come  sneaking  about,  there's  nothing  like  a  long 
reach. 

"Hear  that,  friends,"  said  Magh.  "Here's  a 
traveler  from  Panther's  own  land  calls  him  a  sneak. 
He,  he  he !  now  we  shall  get  at  the  truth." 

"Yes,"  said  Gaur,  the  Bison;  "Panther  and  all 
his  tribe  are  sneaks.  They  murdered  a  Calf  of 
mine.  To  be  sure,  it  was  the  Wife's  Calf,  for 
had  I  been  there  at  the  time  I'd  have  fixed  him. 
She  had  just  lain  down  to  rest  for  the  night, 


1 42  THE  SA'-ZADA  TALES 

and  the  Calf  was  a  little  to  one  side,  and  this  evil- 
spotted  thing,  Panther  of  the  Red  Kind,  came 
sneaking  up  the  wind  like  a  proper  Jungle  Cat. 
He  knew  I  was  away,  for  he  has  the  cunning  of 
Cobra,  and  how  was  the  mother  to  know  that  any 
danger  threatened?  He  stole  like  a  shadow  close 
to  the  poor  little  Calf,  and  with  a  rush  jumped  on 
his  back  and  bit  his  neck,  breaking  it,  and  cutting 
it  so  the  red  blood  ran  his  life  all  out  in  a  little 
while." 

"I  was  born  in  Mardian,"  remarked  Arna,  the 
Buffalo,  "many  years  ago ;  and  save  for  the  loss  of  a 
Calf,  through  Chita  or  Bagh's  treachery,  or  perhaps 
a  lone  Cow  at  times,  our  herd  feared  no  Dweller  of 
the  Jungles.  Mine  is  a  big  family,"  he  ruminated, 
"for  we  wander  over  almost  all  India  and  Burma. 
Before  I  had  grown  up  our  Bull  leader  had  taught 
us  all  the  method  of  battle.  When  it  was  Bagh, 
we  formed  up,  heads  out,  with  the  Calves  behind, 
and  if  we  but  saw  him  in  time,  he  surely  was  slain, 
if  he  sought  strongly  for  a  Kill. 

"I  learned  all  the  different  sounds  that  come  far 
ahead  of  danger.  One's  ears  get  wondrous  sharp 
in  the  Jungle,  I  can  tell  you,  where  the  little  Gonds 
hunt.  If  a  stone  went  singing  down  the  hillside, 
that  meant  Men,  and  Men  meant  the  worst  kind 
of  danger.  No  Animal  starts  a  stone  rolling;  we 
are  too  careful  for  that. 

"Also  do  the  Jungle  Dwellers  not  break  sticks 
as  they  travel.  The  crack  of  a  broken  twig  meant 


BUFFALO  AND  BISON  1 43 

Men  Hunters;  and  when  a  beat  was  on,  the  Jungle 
was,  indeed,  possessed  of  great  sounds.  All  the 
Dwellers  ran  mad  with  fear — the  fear-madness 
that  is  like  unto  the  way  of  Baola  Kutta,  the  Mad 
Dog.  There  is  nothing  so  terrible  in  the  life  of  an 
Animal  as  the  drive  of  the  Hunters.  'Tap,  tap, 
tap,'  like  the  knocking  of  Horns  together,  meant 
the  strike  of  Beaters  against  the  trees,  and  then 
the  Men's  voices  crying,  'Aree  ho  ten? 

"I,  who  tremble  not  at  the  roar  of  a  Tiger,  shiv 
ered  when  I  heard  that,  and  lost  all  knowledge  of 
which  way  I  should  run — that  was  in  the  first  drive, 
of  course,  before  I  became  possessed  of  much 
Jungle  wisdom.  Surely  it  drove  us  all  mad.  Like 
the  sound  of  rain  falling  on  leaves  was  the  rush  of 
Python's  little  feet  as  even  he  flew  from  the  Man- 
danger. 

"Our  best  food  was  down  in  the  jhils,  also  the 
nice  soft  mud  to  lie  in,  and  in  the  early  spring,  after 
the  fires  had  passed,  the  young  bamboo  shot  up  and 
we  ate  them.  Then  when  we  took  it  into  our  heads, 
we  went  up  into  the  deep,  cool  sal  forest  and  rested 
in  peace.  But  in  the  Dry  Time  was  the  time  of 
danger,  for  we  had  to  travel  far  to  find  water.  We 
are  not  like  Antelope  or  Nilgai,  who  go  without 
water  for  days  and  days. 

"I  remember  once  when  we  had  crept  down  out 
of  the  hills,  leaving  the  big  sal  trees  behind,  and 
passing  through  tamarind,  and  mango,  and  pipal, 
and  just  as  we  were  coming  to  the  pool,  which  was 


i44  THE  SA'-ZADA  TALES 

almost  hidden  in  the  jamin  bushes,  I  heard  a  roar 
— there  was  a  rush  and  a  Bagh  of  ferocious 
strength  sprang  on  one  of  our  Cows  and  sought  to 
break  her  neck. 

"But  worse  than  Bagh's  cruel  charge  was  the 
silent  method  of  the  little,  dark  Men-kind — the 
Mariahs.  Like  Magh's  people,  they  would  sit 
quiet  in  the  trees,  and  as  we  came  slowly  back  from 
the  water  would  shoot  arrows  into  us.  Of  this  we 
could  have  no  warning,  neither  any  chance  to  fight 
for  our  lives,  only  the  noise  of  the  arrow  coming 
like  the  hiss  of  King  Cobra,  and  the  cruel  sting  of 
its  sharp  end.  Our  Bull  leader  got  one  this  way 
not  strong  enough  to  bring  him  to  his  death,  and 
for  days  and  days  it  stayed  in  his  side,  and  made 
him  of  such  a  vile  temper  that  the  Herd  had  to 
cast  him  forth,  and  he  became  what  is  known  as  a 
Solitary  Bull. 

"There  is  some  kindness  in  Bagh's  method,  more 
than  in  the  way  of  these  evil  Men,  for  when  he 
kills  he  kills,  and  there  is  no  more  sickness;  but  of 
the  Men,  when  they  hunt  us  with  their  arrow's  or  a 
thunder-stick  which  strikes  with  a  loud  noise,  many 
of  our  kind  are  struck  and  die  at  the  end  of  much 
time. 

"Strong  as  the  fire-stick  is— 

"Arna  means  by  the  fire-stick  a  gun,"  explained 
Sa'-zada. 

"Strong  as  it  is,"  continued  Arna,  "we  Buf 
falo  are  also  of  great  strength.  Why,  the  skin 


BUFFALO  AND  BISON  145 

on  my  neck  and  withers  would  stop  its  strike  any 
time." 

"Stop  the  Bullet?"  queried  Sa'zada. 

"Yes,"  asserted  the  Bull.  "I  have  at  least  three 
buried  in  the  thick  skin  of  my  neck,  and  I  hardly 
know  they  are  there.  Why,  it  has  been  known  in 
my  Herd  for  a  Bull  to  be  struck  fifteen  times  by 
one  of  these  fire-sticks,  and  then  the  Men  did  not 
get  him.  But  just  behind  the  shoulders  we  are 
weak.  My  mother  taught  me  a  trick  of  this  sort — 
'Never  stand  sideways  to  an  enemy,'  she  told  me. 
Yes,  though  it  is  good  to  be  of  great  strength,  a 
little  wisdom  is  also  of  much  use,  even  to  a  Buf 
falo." 

"It  was  so  with  us,"  concurred  Prairie  Bison. 
"From  all  the  other  animals  we  suffered  little  com 
pared  with  the  misery  that  came  from  the  Men — 
the  Redmen;  and  worse  still  were  the  Palefaces; 
it  was,  as  you  say,  Brother,  all  because  of  the  fire- 
stick." 

"Even  I  was  struck  by  it,"  continued  Arna;  "it 
was  this  way.  Early  one  morning  I  had  gone  down 
to  a  jhil,  being  alone  at  that  time  of  the  year,  for 
our  wives  were  busy  with  the  Calves,  and,  as  I  was 
going  to  the  uplands,  to  a  favorite  null  a  of  mine, 
in  which  to  rest,  suddenly  I  caught  sight  of  an 
evil-faced  Gond;  these  same  Gonds  being  of  all 
Shikaris  (hunters)  the  most  strong  in  their  thirst 
for  blood.  I  rushed  away  for  the  hills,  thinking  to 
leave  him  behind.  I  traveled  far,  and  thought  to 


146  THE  SA'-ZADA  TALES 

myself,  now  surely  I  have  lost  this  small  killer. 
Being  hungry,  I  fed  on  the  rich  grass,  but,  as  I  fed, 
suddenly  a  dry  twig  broke  in  the  Jungle,  and  I 
knew  that  it  was  either  Hathi  or  the  little  Gond. 
Looking  back,  I  saw  with  the  Shikari  another  of  a 
white  face.  Again  I  galloped,  and  trotted,  and 
walked,  up  a  long  nulla,  over  a  hill,  around  by  the 
side  of  it,  turned,  and  went  far  back,  much  the 
way  I  had  come,  only  to  one  side.  Then  I  sought 
the  top  of  a  hill  where  the  bamboos  grew  thick, 
thinking  to  hide.  As  I  rested,  an  evil  smell,  that 
was  not  of  the  Jungle,  came  to  me  as  the  wind 
turned  in  its  course  and  blew  up  the  hill.  I  stood 
perfectly  still,  even  ceased  to  flap  my  ears  against 
the  wicked  Flies.  As  I  watched,  suddenly  this  Man 
of  the  white  face  stood  up  from  the  grass  just  the 
shortest  of  gallops  away,  his  thunder-stick  roared, 
and  something  I  could  not  see  struck  me  most 
viciously  in  the  shoulder.  I  was  mad.  Lashing 
my  hips  with  my  tail,  and  throwing  my  nose 
straight  out,  I  charged  him. 

"Again  his  thunder-stick  spoke  loud,  but  there 
was  no  sting — nothing,  and  he  turned  from  me 
and  ran  down  the  hill.  Just  as  I  was  almost  upon 
him,  he  looked  back,  his  foot  caught  in  a  bush  and 
he  fell.  Now,  as  I  have  said,  my  big  Horns  are  of 
great  use  when  Bagh  charges,  or  when  another 
Bull  disputes  the  right  to  command  the  Herd,  but 
as  for  the  small  enemy  lying  on  the  ground,  I  could 
not  get  at  him  at  all;  besides,  I  was  rushing  down 


BUFFALO  AND  BISON  147 

hill  at  great  speed,  so,  though  I  lowered  my  head 
till  my  forehead  almost  crushed  him  into  the  earth, 
yet  I  had  him  not  on  the  Horns,  as,  carried  by  my 
weight,  I  was  forced  to  the  very  bottom.  Before 
I  could  turn  he  was  up  and  away,  and  I  never  saw 
him  again." 

"We  are  also  killed  by  the  Men,"  added  Musk- 
wa,  the  Bear.  "They  take  off  our  black  coats,  and 
I  thought,  perhaps,  that  was  lest  we  might  come  to 
life  again.  Yes,  I  think  they  mean  to  kill  all  Ani 
mals." 

"They  have  killed  nearly  all  my  people,"  sighed 
Prairie  Cow — "nearly  all  of  them.  I  know  that  is 
true,  for  one  day  Sa'-zada  came  into  our  corral, 
and,  rubbing  his  nice  soft  hand  on  my  forehead— 
I  was  sick  that  day,  I  remember — said,  'Poor  old 
girl !  we  must  take  care  of  you,  for  there  are  not 
many  of  your  sort  left  now.'  Then  he  said  it  was  a 
shame  that  the  brutes  had  slaughtered  us  so." 

"Ghurr-ah!"  barked  Wolf,  "tell  of  this  thing, 
O  Buffalo  Cow,  for  to  me  it  has  been  much  of  a 
mystery  where  the  many  of  your  kind  could  have 
gone." 

"Lu-ah!"  sighed  Prairie  Cow,  "it  makes  me  sad 
to  even  think  of  it.  As  I  have  said,  in  my  young 
life  we  were  many,  many  in  numbers  like  you  have 
'seen  our  enemies,  the  Men,  here  at  times.  All 
through  the  long,  warm  days  of  sun,  we  ate  the 
grass  that  grew  again  as  fast  as  we  cropped  it. 
Our  humps  became  big  and  full  of  rich  fat  for  the 


148  THE  SA'-ZADA  TALES 

cold  time.  Not  that  I  had  the  hump  on  my  back 
as  a  Calf,  not  needing  it  as  food,  for  my  mother's 
milk  kept  my  stomach  at  peace  when  the  winds 
were  cold,  and  the  grass  perhaps  under  a  white 
cover.  Sometimes  wThen  the  days  were  harsh  we 
had  to  travel  far  in  search  of  feed  grass,  but  that 
was  nothing:  few  of  us  died  because  of  this.  Even 
when  the  Red-faced  ones  sought  us,  they  killed 
but  few,  for  their  hunger  was  soon  stayed.  But 
suddenly  there  came  to  us  a  time  of  much  fear. 
Wherever  we  went  we  were  chased  by  the  Pale 
faces,  and  their  fire-sticks  were  forever  driving 
the  fire  that  kills  into  our  faces.  Our  Bull  leader 
was  always  taking  us  farther  and  farther  away, 
and  our  Herd  was  getting  smaller  and  smaller. 
It  was  a  miserable  life,  for  there  was  never  any 
rest. 

"At  last  our  Bull  said  that  we  must  go  on  a  long 
trail,  for  the  prairie  wind  was  talking  of  nothing 
but  danger;  so  we  trailed  far  to  the  south.  For 
days  and  days  we  passed  across  hot  sand  deserts  in 
which  there  was  little  grass  and  hardly  any  drink 
ing.  It  was  terrible.  My  hump  melted  to  noth 
ing;  we  were  all  like  that,  worse  than  we  had  ever 
been  after  the  coldest  time  of  little  sun. 

"Then  we  came  to  a  land  in  which  there  was 
grass  and  water,  and  none  of  the  Men-kind;  and 
once  more  we  were  content,  only  for  thinking  of 
our  friends  that  had  been  killed.  I  don't  remem 
ber  how  long  we  were  there — I  think  I  had  raised 


BUFFALO  AND  BISON  149 

two  Calves,  when  one  day  the  evil  that  comes  of 
the  Men  was  once  more  with  us — 

"Yes,  it  is  even  as  I  have  said,"  interrupted 
Arna;  "when  one  thinks  he  has  got  away  safely, 
and  stops  for  a  little  rest,  he  will  see  that  evil  Gond, 
or  some  other  of  the  Men-kind,  waiting  to  do  him 
harm." 

"Just  so,"  commented  Prairie  Cow;  "the  Pale 
faces  had  found  us  out.  But  I  must  say  there  was 
less  use  of  the  fire-sticks  than  before,  and  I  soon 
came  to  know  why  they  had  trailed  us  across  the 
Texas  desert — they  had  come,  to  steal  our  Calves. 
Never  were  any  poor  Animals  so  troubled  by 
Man's  evil  ways  as  were  we  Buffalo.  At  first  I 
thought  they  had  not  fire-sticks  with  them,  and 
meant  to  kill  and  eat  the  Calves,  they  being  less 
able  to  fight.  I  remember  the  very  day  my  Calf 
was  taken.  As  the  Herd  fed  in  a  little  valley,  we 
saw  three  Wild  Horses  coming  toward  us — we 
thought  they  were  Wild  Horses,  but  it  was  an  evil 
trick  of  the  Palefaces,  for  beside  each  Horse 
walked  one  of  the  Men.  They  were  down  wind 
from  us,  so  we  did  not  discover  this.  Suddenly 
our  Herd  leader — he  was  a  great  Bull,  too — gave 
a  grunt  of  warning — much  like  Bear  grunts,  only 
louder;  but  still  we  could  see  nothing  to  put  fear 
into  our  hearts.  Then  our  leader  commenced  to 
throw  sand  up  against  his  sides  with  his  fore 
feet,  and,  lowering  his  head,  shook  it  savagely. 
'Why  does  he  wish  to  battle?'  I  wondered,  for 


1 50  THE  SA'-ZADA  TALES 

the  Wild  Horses  had  never  made  trouble  for  my 
people. 

"Just  then  the  Men  jumped  on  their  animals, 
and  away  we  raced.  I  remember  as  I  ran  wonder 
ing  why  there  was  no  loud  bark  of  the  fire-stick,  for 
I  could  see  the  Hunters  galloping  fast  after  us;  in 
fact  one  of  them  was  close  at  my  heels,  for  my 
youngest  Calf,  not  two  months  old,  could  net  run 
as  swiftly  as  I  wished.  I  was  keeping  him  close; 
and  on  my  other  side  galloped  my  Calf  that  was  a 
year  old. 

"Suddenly  I  heard  a  'swisp'  in  the  air,  and  my 
little  curly-haired  pet  gave  a  choking  gasp  and  fell 
in  the  grass.  Of  course,  I  could  not  stop  at  once, 
and  he  bawled  much  as  I  did  when  the  Wolf  was 
at  my  hock.  When  I  turned  in  great  haste  I  saw 
the  Paleface  on  top  of  him.  I  wras  just  crazy  with 
rage.  I  charged  full  at  the  Man  and  his  Horse, 
and  it  almost  makes  me  laugh  now  to  think  how 
I  kept  him  jumping  about.  He  did  use  a  small  fire- 
stick  on  me,  but  I  am  sure  it  was  because  of  the 
Man-fear,  of  which  Hathi  told  us;  I  saw  it  in  his 
eyes  plain  enough.  But  who  can  stand  against  the 
fire-stick?  Not  even  Bagh  or  Hathi,  as  we  know, 
so  I  was  forced  to  flee  with  the  Herd. 

"We  galloped  far,  far,  before  we  stopped;  and 
that  night  there  were  many  mothers  in  the  Herd 
bawling  and  crying  for  their  lost  Calves,  for  these 
evil  Men  had  stolen  a  great  number.  I  felt  so  sad 
thinking  of  my  little  one's  trouble  that  I  could  stand 


''SUDDENLY  i  HEARD  A  'SWISP'  IN  THE  AIR,  AND  MY  LITTLE  CURLY- 
HAIRED  PET  ." 


BUFFALO  AND  BISON  1 5 1 

it  no  longer,  so  I  went  back  on  our  trail,  and,  fol 
lowing  up  the  scene  of  the  Men-kind,  came  to 
where  they  had  my  Calf  and  the  others.  It  was 
night.  I  soon  found  him,  for  a  Caw  Mother's  nose 
is  most  wise  when  looking  for  her  young.  But  I 
could  not  get  him  away  with  me,  for  he  was  held 
fast  by  something;  so  I  stayed  there  and  let  him 
drink  of  my  milk. 

"Even  with  the  fear  of  a  fire-stick  on  me  I 
stayed  with  him,  and  in  the  morning  when  the  Pale 
faces  saw  me  their  eyes  were  full  of  much  wonder. 
But  I  did  not  try  to  run  away,  and  one  of  them, 
making  many  motions  and  noises  to  the  other  two, 
I  think,  commanded  them  not  to  harm  me.  Well, 
good  Comrades,"  sighed  the  Cow,  regretfully, 
"mine  has  been  a  very  long  story,  I'm  afraid,  but 
when  one  talks  of  her  Babe  there  is  so  much  to  be 
said." 

"And  did  they  bring  you  here  with  the  Calf?" 
asked  Magh. 

"Most  surely,"  answered  Prairie  Cow;  "and  be 
cause  of  my  milk  he  grew  big  and  strong,  much 
faster  than  grew  the  other  Calves,  and  is  now  big 
Bull  of  the  Herd." 

"But  how  fared  the  others  with  no  mothers?" 
asked  Chita. 

"They  gave  them  Cow  mothers  of  the  tame 
kind,"  answered  the  Cow. 

Said  Arna,  scratching  his  back  with  the  point 
of  his  long  horn:  "It  is  not  quite  this  way  with 


1 5  2  THE  SA'-ZADA  TALES 

us  in  India.  We  stick  pretty  well  to  the  jhils  and 
Jungles,  so  the  Men  cannot  kill  many  of  us  at  one 
time;  but  still  we  are  becoming  fewer.  Even  those 
of  the  black  kind  now  have  the  thunder-stick,  and 
kill  my  comrades  to  sell  their  heads  to  the  horn 
merchants.  Think  of  that,  Brothers,  having  a 
price  on  one's  head,  like  a  Bhil  robber." 

Said  Sa'-zada :  "I  wish  all  the  Men  who  slay 
Animals,  calling  it  sport,  might  have  sat  here  to 
night  with  us,  that  their  hearts  might  be  inclined 
more  kindly  toward  you,  Brothers,  who  war  not 
against  my  kind." 

"Sa'-zada,"  cried  Hathi,  in  a  gentle  voice,  "could 
you  not  put  all  these  things  in  a  new  book,  and  lend 
it  to  each  one  of  your  people  so  that  they  might 
know  of  these  true  things  ?  Surely  then  they  would 
not  seek  for  the  life  of  each  one  of  us  that  has 
done  them  no  harm." 

"I  have  a  notion  to  try  it,  good  Comrade,"  said 
the  Keeper.  "But  in  the  meantime  it  is  late,  and 
now  you  must  all  go  back  to  your  corrals  and 
cages." 

"Good-night,  Prairie  Cow,"  trumpeted  Hathi, 
softly,  caressing  her  forehead  with  his  trunk;  "your 
people  most  certainly  have  been  badly  treated  by 
the  Men." 

Soon  silence  reigned  over  the  home  of  these  out 
casts  from  the  different  quarters  of  the  world. 


Ninth  Night 

The   Story   of  Unt,   the   Camel 


NINTH  NIGHT 

THE  STORY  OF  UNT  THE  CAMEL 

THE  clink  of  a  loose  chain;  the  complaining 
wail  of  a  swinging  iron  door;  the  squeak 
of  a  key  turning  an  unwilling  lock — a  heavy-bolted 
lock;  a  flutter  of  wings;  the  crunch  of  giant  feet  on 
the  echoing  gravel;  huge  forms  slipping  through 
the  moonlight,  like  prehistoric  monsters;  a  slim, 
ribbon-like  body  gliding  noiselessly  over  the  grass 
cushion  of  the  Park's  sward;  muffled  laughter,  bird 
calls  and  a  remonstrative  grunt  from  Wild  Boar; 
the  merry  chatter  of  Magh  the  Orang;  a  guarded 
"Phrut-t-t,  Phrut-t-t"  from  Hathi,  the  huge  Ele 
phant — ah,  yes,  all  these ;  surely  it  was  the  gather 
ing  of  old  friends,  who,  like  the  listeners  of  the 
Arabian  Night's  tales,  had  for  many  evenings 
talked  of  their  Jungle  life  in  front  of  Black  Pan 
ther's  cage. 

"You  are  all  welcome,"  growled  Pardus. 

Magh  hopped  on  the  end  of  Hathi's  trunk,  and 
the  latter  lifted  her  gracefully  to  a  seat  on  his  broad 
forehead.  She  had  Blitz,  the  Fox  Terrier,  with 
her.  "You  will  hear  some  lies  to-night,  Pup,"  she 


1 5  6  THE  SA'-ZAD A  TALES 

confided  to  him.  "But  who  is  to  talk?"  she  asked 
suddenly;  "Chee-he !  Sa'-zada,  our  good  Keeper, 
who's  to  talk?" 

"Camel  is  to  tell  us  of  his  life,"  answered  the 
Keeper. 

"That  stupid  creature,  who  is  too  lazy  to  brace 
up  and  look  spry,  talk  to  us?  Next  we  know  we'll 
have  a  tale  from  Turtle." 

"That's  it,"  sneered  Boar,  "if  one  is  honest  and 
a  plodder  like  Unt,  bandy-legged  creatures  like 
Magh  will  call  him  stupid." 

Unt,  with  a  bubbling  grunt,  knelt  down,  doubled 
his  hind  legs  under  him  like  a  jack-knife,  made  him 
self  comfortable,  and  commenced  his  personal  his 
tory. 

"Bul-lul-luh!"  he  muttered.  "I  was  born  in 
Baluchistan,  on  the  nice  white  sand  plains  of  the 
Sibi  Put  (desert).  As  Mooswa  has  said,  there 
must  be  some  great  Animal  who  arranges  things 
for  us.  Think  of  it,  Comrades,  I  had  the  good  for 
tune  to  be  born  in  just  the  loveliest  spot  any  animal 
could  wish  for.  As  far  as  I  could  see  on  every  side 
was  the  hot,  dry  sand  of  the  beautiful  Sibi  desert." 

"I  know,"  interrupted  Ostrich;  "my  home  in 
Arabia  was  like  that.  I've  listened  to  Arna  here, 
and  Bagh,  telling  of  the  thick  Jungles  where  one 
could  scarce  see  three  lengths  of  his  own  body,  and 
I  must  say  that  I  think  it  very  bad  taste." 

"Yes,  it  was  lovely  there,"  bubbled  Unt.  "No 
wonder  that  Bagh,  when  he  was  chased  by  the 


UNT  THE  CAMEL  157 

Beaters,  fled  to  the  sand  damar  and  hid  in  the 
korinda  thorns.  Such  sweet  eating  they  are,  firm 
under  one's  teeth.  The  green  food  is  dreadful 
stuff.  Once  crossing  the  Sibi  Put,  when  I  was  three 
days  without  food,  I  remember  coming  to  Jaco- 
babad,  a  place  where  the  foolish  ones  of  the  Men- 
kind  had  planted  trees,  and  bushes,  and  grass,  and 
kept  them  green  with  water.  I  ate  of  these  three 
green  things,  and  nearly  died  from  a  swelling  in  my 
stomach. 

"Well,  as  I  have  said,  I  was  born  in  that  nice 
sand  place,  and  for  three  or  four  years  did  nothing 
but  follow  mother  Unt  about.  Then  they  put  a 
button  in  my  nose,  and  tied  me  with  a  cord  to  the 
tail  of  another  Unt,  and  put  merchandise  on  my 
back  for  me  to  carry.  There  was  a  long  line  of 
us,  and  in  front  walked  Dera  Khan,  the  Master. 
We  seemed  to  be  always  working,  always  carrying 
something;  our  only  rest  was  when  we  were  being 
loaded  or  unloaded.  We  were  made  to  lie  down 
when  the  packs  were  put  on  our  backs,  and  many 
a  time  I  have  got  up  suddenly  when  the  boxes  were 
nearly  all  on,  rose  up  first  from  behind,  you  know, 
and  sent  the  things  flying  over  my  head.  I  would 
get  a  longer  rest  that  way,  but  also  I  got  much 
abuse,  though  I  didn't  mind  it,  to  be  sure;  for,  as 
Mooswa  has  said,  our  way  of  life  is  all  arranged 
for  us,  and  the  abuse  that  was  thrust  upon  me  was 
a  part  of  my  way. 

"But  one  year  there  came  to  Sibi  many  Men  of 


1 5  8  THE  SA'-ZADA  TALES 

the  war-kind,  and  with  them  were  the  black  ones 
from  Bengal.  It  was  a  fat  cne  of  this  kind,  one  of 
little  knowledge  of  the  ways  of  an  Unt,  a  'Baboo,' 
Dera  Khan  called  him,  who  caused  me  much 
misery.  It  was  my  lot  to  take  him  and  his  goods 
to  the  Bolan  Pass,  so  Dera  said,  for  the  One-in- 
Charge,  a  Sahib,  had  so  ordered  it.  When  I  sought 
to  rise,  as  usual,  when  the  load  was  but  half  in 
place,  he  got  angry  and  beat  me  with  a  big-leafed 
stick  he  carried  to  keep  the  heat  from  his  head. 
But  in  the  end  I  brought  to  his  knowledge  the 
method  of  an  Unt  who  has  been  beaten  without 
cause. 

"When  all  his  pots  and  pans,  and  boxes  of  books, 
wherein  was  writing,  had  been  bound  to  my  saddle, 
the  Baboo  clambered  on  top.  I  must  say  that  I 
could  understand  little  of  his  speech,  for  my  Mas 
ter,  Dera  Khan,  was  a  Man  of  not  many  words,  but 
the  Baboo  was  as  full  of  talk  as  even  Magh  is; 
and  of  very  much  the  same  intent,  too — of  little 
value." 

"Big  lip!  Crooked  neck!  Frightener  of 
Young!"  screamed  Magh,  hurling  the  epithets  at 
Camel  with  vindictive  fury. 

"Unt's  tale  is  truly  a  most  interesting  one;  there 
is  much  wit  in  his  long  head,"  commented  Pardus. 
Camel  rolled  the  cud  in  his  mouth  three  or  four 
times,  dropped  his  heavy  eyelids  reflectively,  bub 
bled  a  sigh  of  meek  resignation  and  proceeded: 

"When  I  rose  from  behind,  the  Baboo  nearly 


UNT  THE  CAMEL  159 

fell  over  my  neck;  when  I  came  sharply  to  my  fore 
feet  (for  I  was  always  a  very  spry,  active  Unt) , 
he  declared  to  Dera  Khan  that  I  had  broken  his 
back.  But  I  knew  this  couldn't  be  true,  for  I  was 
always  a  most  unlucky  Unt.  Of  course,  this  time 
I  was  not  tied  to  the  tail  of  a  mate,  but  my  leading 
line  was  with  the  Baboo.  He  shouted  'Jao'  to  me. 
and  in  addition  called  me  the  Son  of  an  Evil  Pig. 

"Have  any  of  you  ever  seen  one  of  my  kind  run 
away?"  Camel  asked,  swinging  his  big  head  in 
quiringly  about  the  circle. 

"I  have,"  answered  Black  Panther.  "Once,  be 
ing  hungry,  I  crept  close  to  an  Unt  to  ask  him  if  he 
could  tell  me  where  I  might  find  a  Chinkara  or 
other  Jungle  Dweller  for  my  dinner.  I  saw  that 
Camel  run.  For  a  small  part  of  the  journey  I  was 
on  his  back;  but  though  I  can  cling  to  anything 
pretty  well,  yet  the  twists  of  his  long  legs  were  too 
much  for  me,  and  I  landed  on  my  head  in  the  sand, 
nearly  breaking  my  back." 

"Well,"  resumed  Camel,  "you  will  understand 
how  the  Baboo  and  his  pots  and  pans  fared  when 
I  ran  away  with  him,  which  I  did  as  soon  as  Dera 
Khan  moved  a  little  to  one  side.  At  first  I  couldn't 
get  well  into  my  stride,  for  the  Baboo  pulled  at  the 
nose  rope,  and  called  to  Dera  in  great  fear.  Dera 
also  ran  beside  me,  holding  to  the  ropes  that  were 
on  the  boxes;  many  things  fell,  coming  away  like 
cocoanuts  from  a  tree.  An  iron  pot  going  down 
with  much  speed  struck  my  Master  on  his  head,  and 


1 60  THE  SA'-ZADA  TALES 

he  said  the  same  fierce  words  that  he  always  used 
when  I  caused  him  trouble  of  any  kind. 

"You  know,  though  I  ran  fast,  yet  by  tipping  my 
head  a  little  to  one  side  I  could  see  what  was  doing 
behind,  and  I  saw  a  basket  in  which  were  many 
round,  white  things— 

"Eggs,"  suggested  Cockatoo.  "Those  were  the 
round  white  things  Potai  brought  from  bazaar  in 
a  basket." 

"Yes,  they  were  in  a  basket,"  repeated  Camel, 
solemnly;  "so,  as  you  say,  Cocky,  I  suppose  they 
were  eggs;  but,  however,  they  came  down  all  at 
once  on  the  face  and  shoulders  of  my  loved  Mas 
ter." 

"And  broke,  Cah-cah-cah!"  laughed  Kauwa  the 
Crow ;  "I  know.  More  than  once  I've  seen  relatives 
of  mine  have  their  eggs  broken  through  being 
thrown  out  of  the  nest  by  Cuckoo  Bird." 

"As  I  have  said,"  continued  Camel,  "my  Mas 
ter  was  a  Man  of  few  words,  but  at  this  he  let  go 
of  the  rope,  and  the  language  he  used  still  rings  in 
my  ears.  Dry  chewing!  how  I  fled.  And  behind 
chased  Dera  Khan,  a  big  knife  in  his  hand — in 
spite  of  his  violence  I  had  to  laugh  at  the  color  the 
eggs  had  left  on  his  long  beard — a  knife  in  his 
hand,  and  crying  aloud  that  he  would  cut  the  Ba 
boo's  throat. 

"As  I  swung  first  one  side  of  my  legs,  and  then 
the  other  over  the  sweet  sand  desert,  I  could  feel 
the  Baboo  thumping  up  and  down  on  my  back,  for 


UNT  THE  CAMEL  161 

he  was  clinging  to  the  saddle  with  both  hands. 
Sometimes  he  abused  me,  and  sometimes  he  begged 
me  to  stop;  that  I  was  a  good  Unt — his  Father 
and  Mother,  and  his  greatest  friend.  As  he  would 
not  be  shaken  off  because  of  his  fear  of  Dera 
Khan's  knife,  I  carried  him  into  a  jhil  of  much 
water;  there  he  wras  forced  to  let  go,  and  when  he 
got  to  the  bank,  if  it  had  not  been  for  a  Sahib  he 
would  most  surely  have  been  killed  by  my  Master. 
Hathi  has  told  us  of  the  fear-look  he  has  seen  in 
the  faces  of  the  Men-kind,  and  there  was  much  of 
this  in  the  eyes  of  that  Baboo.  I  remained  in  the 
jhil  until  my  Master  had  lost  the  fierce  kill-look, 
then  I  came  out,  and  save  for  some  of  the  old 
abuse  there  was  nothing  done  to  me. 

"But  we  all  went  to  the  Bolan  Pass,  carrying 
food  for  those  that  labored  there  making  a  path 
for  the  Fire  Caravan,  the  bearer  of  burdens  that  is 
neither  Bullock,  nor  Unt,  nor  aught  that  I  know 
of." 

"It  was  a  railroad,"  Sa'-zada,  the  Keeper,  ex 
plained. 

"Perhaps,"  grunted  Unt,  licking  his  pendulous 
upper  lip;  "perhaps,  but  we  Unts  spoke  of  it  as  the 
Fire  Caravan.  Still  it  was  an  evil  thing,  a  de 
stroyer  of  lives,  many  lives,  for  never  in  that  whole 
land  of  sand-hills  and  desert  was  there  so  much 
heat  and  so  much  death. 

"First  the  Bail  (Bullocks)  died  as  though  Bagh 
the  Killer  had  taken  each  one  by  the  throat;  then 


1 62  THE  SA'-ZADA  TALES 

those  of  my  kind  fell  down  by  the  fire-path  and 
could  not  rise  again.  And  the  air,  that  is  always 
so  sweet  on  the  hot  sand  plains,  became  like  the 
evil  breath  of  the  place  wherein  nests  Boar." 

"Ugh,  ugh!"  grunted  Wild  Boar,  "even  there, 
by  this  stupid  tale  of  Unt's,  there  was  something 
evil  to  be  likened  to  my  kind." 

"The  water  that  had  been  sweet  ran  full  of  a 
sickness  because  of  all  this,  and  the  Men  that  drank 
of  it  were  stricken  with  the  Black  Death.  At  first 
it  was  those  of  the  Black-kind,  and  then  the  others, 
the  Sahibs,  became  possessed  of  it.  And  then  the 
Burra-Sahib,  Huzoor  the  Governor,  was  taken  with 
it;  so  said  one  of  the  Sahibs  who  came  to  Dera 
Khan  just  as  he  was  tying  a  rope  about  my  fore 
leg  so  that  I  could  not  rise  and  wander  in  the  night. 

"  Tt  is  sixty  miles  to  Sibi,'  this  Sahib,  who  was 
but  young,  said  to  my  Master. 

'  'By  the  Grace  of  Allah,  it  is  more,'  Dera  an 
swered  him. 

"  'The  Big  Sahib,  who  is  my  friend,  is  stricken 
with  the  Black  Death,'  said  the  young  Sahib,  'and 
also  the  Baboo  Doctor  is  the  same,  being  close  to 
his  death;  and  unless  I  get  a  Healer  from  Sibi  to 
morrow,  the  Sahib  who  is  my  friend  will  surely 
die.' 

"  'If  Allah  wills  it  so,  Kismet,'  answered  my 
Master. 

"  'Have  you  a  fast  Camel?'  asked  the  young 
Sahib. 


UNT  THE  CAMEL  163 

"  'This  is  Moti,'  replied  my  Master,  putting 
his  hand  on  my  hump,  'and  when  he  paces,  the  wind 
remains  behind.' 

"Then  the  young  Sahib  promised  my  Master 
many  rupees  and  much  work  for  the  other  Unts, 
so  be  it  he  might  ride  me  to  Sibi  for  a  Doctor. 

"By  a  meal  of  brown  paper  such  as  one  picks  up 
in  a  bazaar,  I  swear  that  I  understood  more  of 
what  that  meant  to  my  Master  than  many  a  Camel 
would  have  known,  for  had  I  not  seen  it  all,  this 
that  I  am  about  to  tell?  You  know,  Comrades, 
that  the  Burra-Sahib  was  a  Man  of  a  dry  temper, 
and  it  so  happened  that  one  day  Dera  Khan  had 
displeased  him,  which  I  just  say  was  a  way  my 
Master  had  often.  That  was  a  full  moon  before 
the  coming  of  the  Black  Sickness.  Oh,  Friends, 
but  I  had  seen  it  all;  it  made  me  tremble,  knowing 
of  the  readiness  with  which  Dera  Khan  argued 
with  his  knife,  like  unto  the  manner  of  Pathans. 

"The  Big  Sahib  would  have  struck  my  Master 
but  for  this  same  young  Sahib  who  had  now  come 
with  his  offer  of  many  rupees — this  Sahib  who  had 
been  there  at  that  time.  So,  Comrades,  there  was 
good  hate  for  the  sick  man  in  Dera's  heart. 

"  'Will  you  send  the  Camel?'  said  the  young 
Sahib ;  and  Dera,  drawing  himself  up  straight,  even 
as  I  do  under  a  heavy  load,  held  out  his  hand  and 
said,  'Allah !  thou  art  a  Man.  My  goods  are  your 
goods,  but  for  the  other,  the  one  who  is  your  friend 
and  my  enemy,  the  wrath  of  Allah  upon  him.' 


1 64  THE  SA'-ZADA  TALES 

"The  Sahib  was  on  my  back  in  a  little. 

"I  have  said  before  that  with  the  Baboo  and 
many  kettles  on  my  back  I  ran  fast,  but  think 
you,  Comrades,  of  the  weight,  and  also  of  the  poor 
rider,  for  there  is  nothing  an  Unt  dislikes  so  much 
as  the  knock,  knock,  against  his  hump  of  one  having 
no  knowledge  of  proper  pace.  How  the  Sahib  sat ! 
Close  as  a  pad  that  had  been  tied  on ;  and  he  coaxed 
and  urged — even  swore  a  little  at  times,  but  not 
after  an  unreasoning  manner  as  had  the  Baboo. 
He  called  me  a  Bikaneer,  even  his  Dromedary, 
which  means  one  of  great  speed;  and  begged  me, 
if  I  wished  food  for  all  time,  to  hasten.  How  we 
fled  in  the  long  night,  down  the  hot  paths,  splash 
ing  many  times  through  the  cool  water  that,  crossed 
our  path — Bolan  River,  it  is  called,  the  water  that 
comes  from  the  high-reaching  sand  lands  that  are 
all  white  on  their  tops." 

•  "The  snow  mountains,"  explained  Sa'-zada,  for 
Camel's  description  was  more  or  less  vague. 

"As  I  have  said,"  continued  Camel,  "the  water 
was  cool.  Never  once  did  I  fall,  though  the  round 
stones  were  like  evil  things  that  twist  at  one's  feet 
to  bring  him  down.  'Hurry,  hurry,  hurry!'  the 
young  Sahib  called  to  me,  and  I  laughed,  thinking 
he  would  tire  before  I  should. 

"On  we  went,  passing  little  fires  where  those  of 
the  Cooly  kind  rested  as  they  fled  from  the  Black 
Death.  Just  as  we  came  out  on  the  flat  sand  which 
is  the  Sibi  Desert,  there  were  gathered  in  one  place 


UNT  THE  CAMEL  165 

many  Men.  For  a  space  we  stopped,  and 
my  Rider  asked  if  there  was  a  Healer  with 
them.  They  answered  that  they  were  Men  of  the 
war-kind  going  up  to  keep  the  workers  from 
running  away  from  the  Black  Death;  even 
those  at  the  little  fires  would  be  turned  back,  they 
said. 

"Then  on  again  I  raced.  I  could  hear  my  Rider 
talking  back  to  his  friend,  the  Burra-Sahib,  who 
lay  stricken  with  the  evil  sickness,  though  I  know 
not  how  he  could  hear  him,  for  we  were  full  half 
way  to  Sibi. 

"  'Keep  up  your  courage,  Jack,'  he  would  say, 
speaking  to  his  Friend.  'Please  God,  I'll  have  a 
Surgeon  there  in  time  to  save  you  yet.' 

"Then  he  would  fall  to  abusing  some  other  of 
the  Men-kind,  perhaps  he  was  not  a  friend,  whom 
he  blamed  for  all  that  was  wrong.  'You  puffed-up 
beast,'  he  would  say,  speaking  to  this  other,  'to 
send  a  lot  of  Men  to  such  a  death  hole  with  a  brute 
of  a  Bengali-Baboo  to  doctor  them — murder  them, 
and  a  medicine  chest  that  was  emptied  in  a  day. 
It's  a  bit  of  luck  that  Baboo  died,  but  it  doesn't 
help  matters  much.' 

"That  was  the  Baboo  I  had  run  away  with;  per 
haps  even  the  medicine  chest  had  lost  much  through 
its  fall  from  my  back. 

"Then  to  me,  'Hurry,  hurry,  hurry!  Shabaz!' 
(push  on)  ;  then  to  his  Friend,  'Poor  old  Man, 
Jack!  what  will  She  say  if  I  don't  pull  you  out  of 


1 66  THE  SA'-ZADA  TALES 

this?  I'll  never  go  back  to  England  as  long  as  I 
live  if  this  beastly  thing  snuffs  you  out.' 

"Then  to  the  other,  the  one  who  had  done  this 
evil:  'Curse  you,  with  your  red  tape  economy! 
You're  a  C.  I.  E.' — whatever  that  meant  I  don't 
know — 'but  you've  murdered  old  Jack,  who  is  a 
Man.  You're  out  of  this  trouble  up  at  Simla,  but 
you'll  roast  for  this  yet.' 

"You  know,  Comrades,"  said  Unt,  plaintively, 
"I  didn't  know  all  about  this  thing — I  couldn't  un 
derstand  it,  you  see,  being  an  Unt,  and,  as  Magh 
says,  stupid;  but  someway  I  felt  like  doing  my  best 
for  the  young  Sahib  who  did  not  make  me  cross  by 
beating  me,  but  only  cried  'Hurry!  Shabaz !  my 
swift  runner,'  and  shook  a  little  at  the  nose  line  in 
his  haste." 

"I  have  often  felt  that  way,"  encouraged  Hathi; 
"once  I  remember,  it  was  in  Rangoon,  that  time  I 
was  working  in  the  timber  yards.  I  had  a  Mahout 
who  never  stuck  the  sharp  iron  goad  in  my  head  at 
all.  He  always  told  me  everything  I  was  to  do  by 
different  little  knocks  on  my  ears  with  his  knees 
as  he  sat  on  my  neck.  And  also  by  soft  speech,  of 
course,  for,  as  you  say,  Unt,  it  keeps  one  from  get 
ting  cross,  or  filled  writh  fear,  and  so  one  has  only 
to  think  of  what  the  Master  requires.  You  were 
right  to  run  fast  with  such  a  rider." 

"This  is  Camel's  story,"  pleaded  Sa'-zada. 

"Never  mind,"  bubbled  Unt;  "I  was  just  trying 
to  remember  what  time  we  got  to  Sibi — I  know 


"BUT  SOME  WAY  I  FELT  LIKE   DOING   MY  BEST. 


UNT  THE  CAMEL  167 

it  was  before  the  sands  grew  hot  from  the  sun. 
Straight  to  the  Teshil  (Government  office)  the 
young  Sahib  rode  me.  Here  he  made  an  orderly 
bring  me  food  and  drink  while  he  went  quick  to 
bring  a  Healer  for  his  Friend.  I  had  scarce  time  to 
store  half  the  raji  away  for  future  cud-chewing, 
when  back  he  came  with  a  Healer  of  the  White 
Kind. 

"Now,  the  Teshildar,  who  was  Chief  of  Sibi,  was 
a  slow-motioned  Man,  not  given  to  hurry;  that  was 
because  the  hump  on  his  stomach  was  large  with 
the  fat  of  great  eating;  and  when  the  Sahib  asked 
for  another  Unt  to  carry  the  Healer,  this  Man  who 
was  Chief  made  no  haste — not  at  first;  but  when 
the  young  Sahib,  no  doubt  thinking  of  his  friend 
Jack,  threatened  him  with  the  wrath  of  the  Gov 
ernor,  also  the  smaller  anger  of  his  own  fists,  the 
Teshildar  had  an  Unt  of  great  speed  quickly 
brought  forth.  Then  the  young  Sahib,  speaking  to 
me,  said,  'My  heavy-eyed  Friend,  also  one  of  much 
strength,  can  you  go  straight  back  the  sixty  miles?' 

"Of  course,  at  that  time  I  couldn't  speak  in  his 
words,  though  I  could  understand,  so  I  just  shook 
myself,  and  stretched  out  my  long  hind  legs,  as 
much  as  to  say,  'Mount  to  my  back,  and  I  will  try.' 

"We  started,  the  Healer  on  the  other  Unt,  and 
the  Sahib  on  my  back.  I  shall  never  forget  that 
ride.  Sore  legs  !  but  at  first  it  was  not  easy  to  keep 
up  with  my  Comrade,  who  was  fresh;  but  also  was 
he  a  trifle  like  the  Teshildar,  fat  in  the  hump,  so  in 


1 68  THE  SA'-ZADA  TALES 

the  end  that  had  its  effect,  and  I  managed  to  keep 
pace  with  him. 

"We  reached  back  in  the  Bolan  just  as  the  sun 
was  straight  over  our  heads.  By  the  raji  that  was 
still  in  my  gullet  I  was  tired;  so  was  the  young 
Sahib,  for  when  I  knelt  down,  and  he  slipped 
quickly  from  my  back,  he  spun  round  and  round 
like  a  box  that  has  broken  loose,  and  came  to  the 
ground  in  haste.  Just  as  he  fell,  Dera  Khan 
caught  him,  and  lifted  him  up;  then  he  and  the 
Healer  went  to  the  tent  where  was  his  friend  Jack. 
And  I  heard  my  Master,  Dera,  say  afterward,  that 
the  little  Sahib  never  slept  while  it  was  twice  dark 
and  twice  light;  that  was  until  the  Healer  said  the 
stricken  one,  Jack,  the  Burra-Sahib,  was  again  free 
of  the  Black  Death." 

"I  think  it  is  a  true  tale,"  remarked  Adjutant, 
putting  down  his  left  leg  and  taking  up  his  right. 
"I  have  seen  much  of  this  Black  Death  in  my  forty 
years  of  life,  and  the  Men  of  the  White-kind  take 
great  care  of  each  other.  Now,  those  of  the  Black- 
kind  get  the  Man-fear  which  Hathi  has  spoken  of, 
in  their  eyes,  and  flee  fast  from  this  terrible  sick 
ness,  crying  aloud  that  their  livers  have  turned  to 
water.  I,  myself,  though  I  am  a  bird  of  little 
speech,  could  tell  tales  of  both  methods." 

"But  what  became  of  you,  Unt?"  queried 
Magh;  "did  you  catch  this  sickness  and  die?" 

"No,"  replied  Camel,  solemnly,  not  noticing  the 
sarcasm ;  "the  little  Sahib  took  me  from  Dera  Khan 


UNT  THE  CAMEL  169 

by  a  present  of  silver,  and  kept  me  to  ride  on,  and 
in  the  end  I  was  sent  here  to  Sa'-zada." 

"It's  bed-time,"  broke  in  the  Keeper;  "let  each 
one  go  quickly  to  his  cage  or  corral," 


Tenth  Night 

The   Story  of  Big  Tusk,  the   Wild 
Boar 


TENTH  NIGHT 

THE    STORY   OF   BIG  TUSK,    THE    WILD    BOAR 

AS  the  tenth  night  of  what  might  be 
called  the  Sa'-zada  convention,  and  Black 
Panther  was  making  the  iron  bars  of  his  cage  jingle 
in  their  sockets  with  his  full-voiced  roar.  Shoulders 
spread,  and  head  low  to  the  floor,  his  white  fangs 
showing,  he  called  "Waugh,  waugh !  Waw-houk! 
Come,  Comrades.  Ganesh,  One-tusked  Lord  of  the 
Jungles,  Muskwa  and  Mooswa ;  you,  Sher  Abi, 
eater  of  Water-men;  even  little  Magh;  come  all  of 
you  and  listen  to  the  lies  of  a  Swine."  Then  he 
laughed:  "Che-hough,  che-hough !  the  lying  tales 
of  Jungli  Soor." 

"Ugh,  ugh!"  grunted  Grey  Boar,  angrily,  as 
he  slipped  up  the  graveled  walk  to  the  front 
of  Leopard's  cage.  "In  my  land  there  is  a 
saying  of  the  Men-kind,  that  'A  lie  can  hide 
like  a  Panther;  if  it  be  a  bad  lie,  that  it  is  as 
difficult  to  come  face  to  face  with  as  Black  Pan 
ther.'  " 

By  this  time  the  animals  had  all  gathered,  and 
Sa'-zada  opening  The  Book,  spoke : 

173 


174  THE  SA'-ZADA  TALES 

"This  is  Wild  Boar's  night.  I  am  sure  he  will 
tell  us  something  interesting." 

"A  lie  is  often  amusing,"  declared  Magh. 

"That  may  be  so,"  retorted  Boar,  "for  even  Sa'- 
zada  has  said  that  you  are  the  funniest  Animal  in 
the  Park." 

"But  why  should  we  listen  to  Soor's  squeaky 
tales?"  snarled  Bagh;  "when  he  gets  excited  his 
voice  puts  me  on  edge." 

"Well,"  interrupted  Sa'-zada,  "these  meetings 
are  so  that  each  animal  may  have  a  chance  to  tell 
us  what  good  there  is  in  him." 

"Then  why  should  Soor  waste  our  time?" 
queried  Magh.  "Even  he  will  know  no  good  of 
himself." 

"I  don't  know  about  that,"  answered  Sa'-zada. 
"I  think  every  animal  is  for  some  good  purpose, 
and  we  can  tell  better  after  we  have  heard  Boar's 
story." 

"Here  are  two  of  us,  O  Sa'-zada,"  said  Grey 
Boar.  "I,  who  am  from  Burma,  know  of  the  way 
of  my  kind  in  that  land,  and  Big  Tusk,  who  is  also 
here,  being  my  Comrade,  is  from  Nagpore,  in 
India,  and  can  tell  you  how  we  are  persecuted  in 
the  North.  If  I  am  all  bad,  can  anyone  say  why 
it  is  ?  I  am  not  an  eater  of  Bhainsa,  Men's  Buffalo, 
like  Bagh  and  Pardus;  neither  am  I,  nor  any  of  my 
Kind,  known  as  Man-killers.  Even  in  Hathi's 
family  have  there  been  Man-killers — the  Rogue 
Hathi." 


BIG  TUSK,  THE  WILD  BOAR       175 

"But  it  is  said  in  the  Jungles  that  you  sometimes 
kill  Bakri,  the  Men's  Sheep,"  declared  Magh. 

"All  a  lie!"  answered  Grey  Boar.     "We  are 
not  animals  of  the  Kill;  neither  do  we  wreck  the 
villages  of  the  Men,  as  does  Hathi,  nor  drive  the 
rice-growers  from  their  lands — lest  they  be  caten 
as  do  Bagh  and  Pardus." 

"But  you  eat  their  jowari  and  rice,"  asserted 
Panther. 

"A  little  of  it  at  times,  perhaps,  but  only  a  little. 
Our  food  is  of  the  Jungles,  and  how  are  we  to  know 
just  what  has  been  grown  by  the  Men,  and  what 
has  grown  of  itself?  And  in  my  land,  which  was 
Aracan  in  Burma,  but  for  me  and  my  people  the 
Men  could  not  live." 

"In  what  manner,  O  Benefactor  of  the  Op 
pressed?"  asked  Magh,  mockingly. 

"Because  of  Python,  and  Cobra,  and  Karait,  and 
Deboia,  and  the  other  small  Dealers  of  Death," 
answered  Grey  Boar,  sturdily.  "We  roam  the 
Jungles,  and  when  these  Snakes,  that  are  surely 
evil,  rise  in  our  paths,  we  trample  them,  and  tear 
them  with  our  tusks — 

"And  eat  them,  I  know,  cha-hau,  cha-hau!" 
laughed  Hyena,  smacking  his  watering  lips. 

"Yes,"  affirmed  Grey  Boar.  "Are  not  we,  alone, 
of  all  Animals  for  this  work?  When  Cobra  strikes, 
and  fetches  home,  does  not  even  Hathi,  or  Arna, 
or  mighty  Raj  Bagh,  die  quickly?  But  not  so  with 
us.  I  can  turn  my  cheek,  thus,  to  King  Cobra, 


1 76  THE  SA'-ZADA  TALES 

(and  he  held  his  big  grizzled  head  sideways),  and 
when  I  feel  the  soft  pat  of  his  cold  nose  against  my 
fat  jaw,  I  seize  him  by  the  neck,  and  in  a  minute 
one  of  the  worst  enemies  of  Man  is  dead." 

"What  says  King  Cobra,  then — Cobra  and  the 
others — crawling  destroyers?"  asked  Magh,  mali 
ciously. 

"This  is  Boar's  story,"  interrupted  Mooswa,  see 
ing  that  Sa'-zada  looked  angry  at  the  interruption. 

"As  I  was  saying,"  continued  Grey  Boar,  "Cobra 
and  his  cousins  kill  more  of  the  Men-kind,  many 
times  over,  than  all  the  other  Jungle  Dwellers  put 
together.  Think  of  that,  Comrades — even  when 
we  are  searching  the  Jungles  on  every  side  for  these 
evil  Poisoners;  so  if  it  were  not  for  us,  what  would 
become  of  the  Men?  Yet  in  a  hot  time  of  little 
Jungle  food,  if  we  but  eat  a  small  share  from  their 
fields,  the  Men  revile  us.  Also,  there  is  cause  for 
fear  at  times  in  this  labor  that  is  ours.  Once  I  re 
member  I  had  a  tight  squeeze — 

"Going  through  a  fence  into  a  jowari  field,  I 
suppose,"  prompted  Magh. 

"I  did  not  have  my  tail  cut  off  for  stealing  cocoa- 
nuts,"  sneered  Grey  Boar.  "The  tight  squeeze  was 
from  Python ;  and  do  you  know  that  to  this  day 
I  am  half  a  head  longer  than  I  was  before  our  slim 
Friend  twisted  about  my  body.  But  I  got  his  head 
in  my  strong  jaws  just  as  I  was  near  dead." 

"Perhaps  you  would  not  have  managed  it  if  he 
had  not  squeezed  you  out  long,"  said  Pardus. 


BIG  TUSK,  THE  WILD  BOAR       177 

"What  I  say,"  continued  Boar,  "is,  that  we  are 
not  the  Evil  Kind  that  is  in  the  mouth  of  everyone. 
Cobra  crawls  into  the  houses  of  the  Men,  and  for 
fear  of  their  evil  Gods  they  feed  him;  and  one 
day  in  anger  he  strikes  to  Kill.  That  is  surely 
wrong.  But  wre  live  in  houses  of  our  own  make." 

"Certainly  that  is  a  lie,"  interrupted  Magh. 
"Thou  art  a  wanderer  in  the  Jungle,  a  dweller  in 
caves,  even  as  Pard  the  Panther." 

"You  are  wrong,  Little  One,"  declared  Hathi, 
"for  I  have  seen  Boar's  house.  It's  a  sort  of  grass 
hauda." 

"Yes,"  affirmed  Wild  Boar;  "it  is  all  of  my  own 
making,  and  of  grass,  to  be  sure.  For  days  and 
days  at  a  time,  I  do  nothing  but  cut  the  strong  ele 
phant  grass,  and  the  big  ferns,  and  the  sweet  bowl- 
chie,  and  pile  it  up  into  a  house.  Then  I  burrow 
under  it,  and  the  rain  beats  it  down  over  my  back, 
and  soon  I  have  a  nice,  clean,  waterproof  nest.  I 
am  not  a  homeless  vagabond  like  Magh  and  her 
wandering  tribe — 

"And  that's  just  it,"  broke  in  Big  Tusk,  the 
Nagpore  Boar.  "We,  who  are  quiet  and  orderly 
in  our  manner  of  life,  living  in  houses  of  our  own 
building,  as  Grey  Boar  has  said,  are  hunted  and 
killed  by  the  White-faced  ones  as  a  matter  of  sport. 
What  think  you  of  that,  Sa'-zada — killed  just  for 
our  tusks — for  a  pair  of  teeth?" 

"It  is  likewise  so  with  me,  my  narrow-faced 
Brother,"  whispered  Hathi.  "Many  of  my  kind 


1 7  8  THE  SA'-ZAD A  TALES 

are  slain  for  their  tusks;  I,  who  have  lived  amongst 
the  Men,  know  that." 

Continued  Big  Tusk:  "Yes,  this  is  so;  I  have 
been  in  many  a  run  in  the  corries  of  Nagpore.  You 
see,  I  learned  the  game  from  my  Mother  when  I 
was  but  a  'Squeaker,'  for  be  it  to  the  credit  of  the 
White  ones,  they  kill  not  the  Sows  with  their  sharp 
spears." 

"Was  that  pig-sticking?"  asked  Sa'-zada. 

"It  was,"  declared  Big  Tusk;  "and  my  Mother, 
who  was  in  charge  of  a  Sounder  of  at  least  thirty 
Pigs,  knew  all  about  this  game.  We'd  be  feeding 
in  the  sweet  bowlchie  grass,  or  in  a  thur  khet,  when 
suddenly  I'd  hear  her  say,  '  Waugh !  Ung-h-gh!' 
which  meant,  'Danger!  lie  low.'  Then,  watching, 
we'd  see  those  of  the  Black-kind  here,  and  there, 
and  all  over,  with  flags  in  their  hands  to  drive  the 
Pigs  certain  ways,  and  to  show  the  Sahibs  which 
way  we  went.  Mother  would  always  make  us  lie 
still  until  the  very  last  minute;  but  almost  always, 
sooner  or  later,  the  Sahibs  would  come  galloping 
on  their  horses  right  in  amongst  us.  'Ugh-ugh- 
ugh-ugh  !'  Mother  would  call  to  us,  and  this  meant, 
'Run  for  it,  but  keep  to  cover' ;  and  away  we'd  go, 
from  sun  khet  to  dol  field,  and  then  into  shur  grass, 
from  Sirsee  Bund  to  Hirdee  Bund,  or  into  the  tall, 
thick  bowlchie.  Now  the  trouble  was  this  way: 
Mother  was  so  big  and  strong  that  the  Sahibs  on 
their  ponies  always  galloped  after,  thinking  her  a 
Boar.  Even  the  Black  Men  with  the  flags  would 


BIG  TUSK,  THE  WILD  BOAR       179 

cry,  'Hong!  Hong!  Burr  a  dant  wallah!'  which 
means  in  their  speech,  'A  Boar  of  big  tusks.' 
Many  a  time  I've  heard  Mother  chuckle  over  the 
run  she'd  given  the  Horsemen,  for  we'd  lie  up  in 
the  grass,  and  listen  to  the  White-faced  ones,  the 
Sahibs,  curse  the  Black  Men  most  heartily  for  their 
foolishness  in  calling  Mother  a  big-tusked  Boar. 
It  was  all  done  to  save  the  Tuskers,  for  while  the 
Sahibs  were  chasing  Mother,  many  an  old  chap 
has  saved  having  a  spear  thrust  through  him  by 
clearing  off  to  some  other  bund" 

"You  did  have  a  good  schooling,"  remarked 
Gidar,  the  Jackal.  "But  did  the  Sahibs  never  spear 
any  of  your  young  Brothers?" 

"No;  as  I  have  said,  it  was  only  a  big-tusked 
one  they  cared  for.  But  to  me  it  seemed  such  a 
cruel  thing,  even  when  I  was  young;  killing  us  with 
the  sharp  spears — for,  more  than  once  I've  heard 
the  scream  of  a  Boar  as  he  was  stabbed  to  death." 

"But  what  \vere  you  doing  in  the  dot  grass,  you 
and  your  big  Mother?"  asked  Bagh.  "Were  not 
you  eating  the  grain  of  the  poor  villagers?  I  re 
member  in  my  time,  when  I  was  a  free  Lord  of  the 
Jungles,  that  a  poor  old  ryot  (farmer)  had  a  little 
field — a  new  field  it  was — just  in  the  edge  of  the 
Jungle.  I  also  remember  it  was  raji  he  grew  in  it, 
and  he  prayed  to  me  as  though  I  were  one  of  his 
Hindoo  Gods,  asking  me  to  keep  close  watch  over 
his  field,  and  to  kill  all  the  Pigs,  and  the  Chital, 
and  Black  Buck  that  might  come  there  to  destroy 


1 80  THE  SA'-ZADA  TALES 

his  raji.  Even,  to  give  me  a  liking  for  the  place, 
that  I  might  mark  it  down  in  my  line  of  hunt,  he 
tied  an  old  Cow  there  for  my  first  Kill.  I  was  the 
making  of  that  Man,"  declared  Bagh,  sitting  down 
and  smoothing  his  big  coarse  mustache  with  his 
velvet  paw — "the  making  of  him,  for  he  had  a 
splendid  crop  of  raji,  and  I,  why  I  must  have  killed 
a  dozen  Pigs  in  and  about  his  field." 

"Oh,  dear  me!"  cried  Magh.  "Sugared  pea 
nuts  !  Every  Jungle  Dweller  is  growing  into  a 
benefactor  of  the  Men;  even  Pig  is  a  much  abused, 
innocent  chap ;  and  here's  Bagh  a  protector  of  the 
poor  ryot." 

"But  what  were  you  doing  in  the  dol  field, 
Grunter?"  queried  Cobra;  "that's  what  Bagh 
wants  to  know." 

"Looking  for  Snakes,"  answered  Boar,  sulkily. 
"But  what  if  we  did  eat  a  trifle  of  the  grain;  was 
that  excuse  for  the  Sahibs  killing  us?  With  their 
Horses  did  they  not  beat  down  and  destroy  more 
than  we  did?  And  have  not  the  people  of  the  land, 
the  Black-kind,  taken  more  from  us  in  the  way  of 
food  than  we  ever  did  from  their  fields?  Many  a 
time  have  they  been  saved  from  starvation  by  the 
meat  of  my  tribe.  And  yet,  through  it  all,  we  get 
nothing  but  a  bad  name,  and  that  just  because  we 
stick  up  for  our  rights.  Bagh  talks  about  keeping 
us  from  the  Man's  field;  that  is  just  like  him — 
it  is  either  a  false  tale  or  he  ate  'Squeakers' — little 
Pigs  that  couldn't  protect  themselves.  Would  he 


BIG  TUSK,  THE  WILD  BOAR       1 8 1 

tackle  Me?  Not  a  bit  of  it!  If  he  did  I'd  soon 
put  different  colored  stripes  on  his  jacket — red 
stripes.  He's  a  big,  sneaking  coward,  that's  what 
Bagh  is.  Why,  I've  seen  him  sitting  with  his  back 
against  a  rock,  afraid  to  move,  while  six  Jungle 
Dogs  snapped  at  his  very  nose — waiting  for  him 
to  get  up  that  they  might  fight  him  from  all  sides. 
Ugh,  ugh !  a  fine  Lord  of  the  Jungle !  a  sneak,  to 
eat  little  Pigs ! 

"But  I  did  more  than  keep  a  rajl  field  for  a  poor 
villager;  I  saved  his  life,  and  from  Bagh,  too.  I 
don't  know  that  he  had  ever  given  me  to  eat  will 
ingly,  or  even  made  pooja  to  me,  but  I  was  coming 
up  out  of  his  thur  field  one  evening,  and  he  was 
fair  in  my  path,  with  one  of  those  foolish  ringed 
sticks  in  his  hand.  'Ugh!'  I  said,  meaning,  'Get 
out  of  the  way,'  but  he  only  stood  there. 

"This  made  me  cross,  and  I  thought  he  was  dis 
puting  the  road  with  me,  for  I  am  not  like  Bagh, 
the  Lord  of  the  Jungle,  who  slinks  to  one  side. 
Then  I  spoke  again  to  the  man,  'Ugh,  ugh, 
wungh !'  meaning  that  I  was  about  to  charge.  All 
the  time  I  was  coming  closer  to  him  on  the  path. 
Then  I  saw  what  it  was;  my  friend,  Stripes  the 
Tiger,  was  crouched  just  beyond  the  Man,  lashing 
the  grass  with  his  long,  silly  tail. 

"Now  as  I  had  made  up  my  mind  to  charge 
something  that  was  in  my  path,  and  as  the  sight 
of  Bagh  in  his  evil  temper  drew  my  anger  toward 
him,  I  drove  full  at  his  yellow  throat.  Just  one  rip 


1 8  2  THE  SA'-ZADA  TALES 

of  my  tusks,  and  with  a  howl  like  a  starved  Jackal 
he  cleared  for  the  Jungle.  He  meant  to  eat  that 
Man,  you  see." 

"Now  we  are  getting  at  the  truth  of  the  matter," 
cried  Magh,  gleefully.  "When  these  Jungle 
thieves  fall  out,  we  get  to  know  them  fairly  well." 

"But  tell  us  more  of  this  hunting  of  your  kind 
with  the  spears,  O  brother  of  the  Big  Tusks," 
pleaded  Hathi.  "It  does  seem  an  unjust  thing." 

"Well,"  continued  the  Seoni  Boar,  "as  I  have 
said,  while  in  my  Mother's  keeping,  she  taught 
me  much  of  the  ways  of  the  Boar  Hunters.  Many 
a  run  from  the  Spear  Men  I've  been  in.  But  while 
I  was  small,  and  had  not  tusks,  of  course  I  was 
allowed  to  go,  even  when  they  came  full  upon  the 
top  of  us;  but  in  a  few  years  my  tusks  grew,  and 
each  run  became  harder  and  more  difficult  to  get 
away  from.  Besides,  early  in  the  Cold  Time,  at 
the  time  the  Men  call  Christmas,  we  Boars  all  went 
off  by  ourselves,  and  left  the  Sows  and  Squeakers 
in  peace;  and,  while  I  think  of  it,  I've  no  doubt  it 
was  at  this  time  that  Bagh  killed  so  many  of  my 
people  in  the  raji  fields.  Had  there  been  a  big 
Tusker  or  two  there,  Tiger  would  have  been  busy 
looking  for  Chital  or  Sambhur. 

"Well,  through  being  away  from  my  Mother 
this  way,  and  mixing  with  the  other  Boars,  I  got  to 
be  quite  capable  of  taking  care  of  myself;  and,  as 
I  lived  year  after  year,  finally  the  Black  Men,  Ugh ! 
also  the  White-faced  ones,  gave  to  me  the  name 


BIG  TUSK,  THE  WILD  BOAR       1 83 

of  the  Seoni  Boar.  So,  with  the  more  knowledge 
I  gained  with  my  years  of  being,  the  more  I  re 
quired  it,  for  the  closer  they  hunted  me. 

"Strange  how  it  is  that  every  Jungle  Dweller's 
hand  is  against  the  Pig.  I  declare  here,  before  all 
you  Comrades,  that  more  than  once  I  have  been 
lying  dog-oh,  close  hid  in  the  bowlchie,  when  a 
screech-voiced  Peacock  has  commenced  to  cry,  'Aih- 
ou,  aih-ou!'  as  plain  as  you  like,  'Here  he  is,  here 
he  is  !'  and  down  on  my  heels  would  come  the  Spear 
Men  on  their  rushing  Ponies.  But  I  soon  learned 
to  take  to  the  Scrub-Jungle,  knowing  that  the  ponies 
would  not  follow  me.  But  even  there  in  the  Jungle 
I've  been  hunted  by  the  Black-kind;  and  then  it 
was  the  same  way,  enemies  afoot,  and  enemies  over 
head.  Langur,  a  fool-cousin  of  Magh's  there, 
many  a  time  has  betrayed  my  hiding-place  to  the 
hunt  Man.  'Che-che-che,  wow,  wow!'  over  my 
head  the  silly  thieves  would  chatter  and  well  the 
Huntsmen  would  know  that  I  had  gone  that  way. 

"Once  when  I  was  started  out  of  the  Seoni  Bund, 
and  was  making  with  full  speed  through  the  dol 
khet,  a  meddlesome  white  Dog  came  chasing  after 
me,  snapping  at  my  heels,  and  crying,  'Bah,  ki-yi, 
bah,  ki-yi !'  Well  I  knew  that  as  long  as  that  noise 
kept  up,  I  might  as  well  be  running  out  in  the  open 
in  full  view,  so  I  checked  my  pace  a  little,  and  the 
Dog,  with  more  pluck  than  good  sense,  laid  me  by 
the  ear.  With  one  rip  of  my  tusk  sideways,  I  cast 
him  open  from  end  to  end.  But  such  matters  take 


1 84  THE  SA'-ZADA  TALES 

some  time,  and  check  one  when  the  run  is  close,  and 
before  I  could  take  to  cover  again,  a  Pony  was  fair 
on  top  of  me. 

"I  jinked,  as  only  a  Boar  who  has  been  in  many 
a  run  knows  how.  My  jink  was  so  sudden  that  the 
rider,  seeking  to  spear  me  under  his  Pony's  neck, 
came  a  full  cropper  in  the  black  cotton-earth. 
Ugh-huh-huh  !  it  makes  me  laugh  now  when  I  think 
of  it.  Of  course  I  hadn't  time  to  laugh  then,  for  I 
had  no  sooner  jinked  clear  of  his  spear  than  I  saw 
coming  up  on  the  other  side,  the  longest  one  of  the 
Men-kind  that  was  ever  in  the  Jungle,  and  what 
with  his  spear  he  seemed  like  a  tree.  At  once  I 
remembered  what  my  Mother  had  told  me  to  do  if 
ever  a  Spear-hunter  got  full  on  top  of  me.  'Into 
the  horse's  legs,'  the  old  Dame  had  said;  'that's 
your  only  hope.'  I  must  say  that  I  charged  Bagh 
that  other  time  with  greater  joy  than  I  slashed  into 
that  long  Sahib's  Pony. 

"Of  course,  the  Hunter  thought  I  was  going  to 
run  for  it,  so  when  I  jinked  short  about  and  ripped 
his  Pony's  foreleg  the  full  length  of  my  nose,  he 
was  taken  quite  off  his  guard. 

"It  seemed  as  though  part  of  the  Jungle  had 
fallen  on  me,  for  Pony  and  Huntman  came  down 
like  ripe  fruit  off  the  Mowha  tree.  I  got  one  rip 
at  the  Man's  leg,  and  thought  I'd  made  a  fine  cut, 
but  I  learned  afterward,  after  they'd  caught  me, 
of  course,  that  it  was  his  boot-leg  I  had 
ripped " 


"  ''INTO  THE  HORSE'S  LEGS,'  THE  OLD  DAME  HAD  SAID. 


BIG  TUSK,  THE  WILD  BOAR       1 8  5 

"Oh,  Sa'-zada,  I  believe  the  Seoni  Boar  is  the 
best  liar  we've  struck  yet,"  said  Magh. 

"Not  so,"  declared  the  Keeper,  "this  tale  of  the 
pig-sticking  is  a  true  tale,  for  it  is  written  in  The 
Book." 

"I  only  tell  that  which  is  true,"  declared  Big 
Tusk,  the  Seoni  Boar.  "And  before  I  had  got  to 
the  Scrub-Jungle,  I  had  a  spear  driven  into  my 
shoulder  from  another  Sahib,  but  I  put  my  teeth 
through  the  giver's  foot  as  I  knocked  his  pony  over 
from  the  side.  It  was  a  rare  fight  that  day,  but 
I  got  away  at  last." 

"How  were  you  caught?"  queried  Magh. 

"Oh,  that  was  long  afterwards,  and  happened 
because  of  Bagh's  evil  ways.  The  Huntman  had 
spread  a  big  net  in  the  Jungle  to  take  Bagh,  who 
had  slain  a  Woman;  and  in  the  drive,  not  knowing 
of  this  evil  thing,  I  came  full  into  the  net,  and  got 
so  tangled  up  that  I  could  not  move.  When  the 
White  Hunter  saw  that  it  was  I,  the  Seoni  Boar, 
he  said,  'Let  us  take  him  alive,  for  he  has  given  us 
mighty  sport  and  fought  well.'  So  they  made  a 
cage  and  I  was  forced  into  it  from  the  net." 

"Is  that  all?"  asked  Magh. 

"Yes,"  replied  Boar. 

"Well,"  continued  the  Orang-Outang,  "from 
your  own  account  you  appear  to  be  a  very  fine  fel 
low.  I  can't  understand  why  all  the  Jungle  Dwell 
ers,  even  the  Men-kind,  connect  your  name  with 
everything  that's  evil.  I  doubt  if  one  of  them 


1 8  6  THE  SA'-Z ADA  TALES 

could  speak  as  well  for  himself,  were  he  allowed 
to  tell  his  own  story." 

"As  I  have  said  before,"  commented  Sa'-zada, 
"it's  hardly  fair  to  give  an  animal  a  bad  name 
without  knowing  all  about  him,  and  Boar's  stories 
have  all  been  true,  I  know.  But  it's  late  now,  so 
each  one  away  to  his  cage  or  corral,  and  sleep." 


Eleventh  Night 

The   Stories    of  Oohoo,   the    Wolf, 
and  Sher  Abi,  the  Crocodile 


ELEVENTH  NIGHT 

THE    STORIES    OF   OOHOO,    THE    WOLF,    AND    SHER 
ABI,  THE   CROCODILE 


the    KeePer> 

"we  shall  have  a  story  from  White 
Wolf  of  his  home  in  the  frozen  North,  and  also 
one  from  Sher  Abi,  the  Crocodile,  of  the  warm 
land  in  which  he  lived,  Burma." 

"I  am  glad  there  is  to  be  a  tale  of  the  North 
land,"  said  Mooswa,  "for  it's  a  lovely  place." 

"And  Sher  Abi  is  so  stupid,"  added  Magh  the 
Orang,  "that  he's  sure  to  fall  to  boasting  of  some 
of  his  murders." 

"There's  little  to  choose  between  them  in  that 
respect,"  commented  Muskwa,  "except  that  for 
cunning  there  is  no  one  but  Carcajou  of  the  same 
wit  as  Wolf." 

"Thank  you,  Comrade,"  cried  Oohoo,  the  Arctic 
Wolf;  "those  of  my  land  who  are  short  of  wit  go 
with  a  lean  stomach,  I  can  tell  you.  But  yet  it  is 
just  the  sweetest  place  that  any  poor  animal  ever 
lived  in." 

"It  is,"  concurred  Mooswa;  "forests  of  green 

Spruce  trees— 

189 


1 90  THE  SA'-ZADA  TALES 

"Not  so,  Brother  Tangle-leg,"  objected  Oohoo; 
"true  I  have  been  within  the  Timber  Boundaries, 
but  that  was  far  to  the  south  of  my  home.  I  re 
member,  once  upon  a  time,  thinking  to  better  my 
condition,  for  it  was  a  year  of  scarce  Caribou;  I 
trailed  down  past  Great  Slave  Lake  to  the  home 
of  my  cousin,  Blue  Wolf,  who  was  Pack  Leader  of 
the  Timber  Wolves.  Ghurrh-h !  but  they  led  a 
busy  life:  Almost  day  and  night  they  were  on  the 
hunt,  for  their  kill  was  small;  a  Grey  Rabbit,  or 
a  Grouse,  or  a  Marten — a  mere  mouthful  for  a 
full-hungered  Wolf. 

"But  in  the  Northland  where  one  could  travel 
for  days  and  days  over  the  white  snow  and  the  hunt 
meant  a  free  run  with  no  chance  of  cover  for  the 
prey,  it  was  all  a  matter  of  strength  and  speed. 
Leopard  has  boasted  of  the  merit  of  his  spotted 
coat  for  hiding  in  the  sun-splashed  Jungle;  and 
also  Bagh  has  told  how  the  stripes  on  his  sides  hide 
him  in  the  strong  grass.  But  look  at  me,  my  Com 
rades " 

"You  are  pretty,"  sneered  Magh. 

"Here  I  am  dirty  brown,"  resumed  Oohoo,  pay 
ing  no  attention  to  the  taunt,  "and  what  does  that 
mean?" 

"That  you  are  dirty  and  a  Wolf,"  answered 
Magh,  innocently. 

"It  shows  that  I  live  in  a  dirty  brown  place," 
asserted  Wolf.  "We  are  all  dirty  brown  here," 

"I'm  not,"  objected  Python, 


SHER  ABI,  THE  CROCODILE       191 

"You  would  be  if  you  didn't  lie  in  the  water  all 
day;  but,  as  I  was  going  to  say,  in  that  land  of  snow 
I  was  all  white,  and,  by  my  cunning,  with  a  careful 
stalk  I  always  got  within  a  running  distance  of — 
of — I  mean  anything  I  wanted  to  look  at  closely, 
you  know." 

"A  Babe  Caribou,  I  suppose,"  grunted  Muskwa; 
"just  to  see  how  he  was  coming  on.  Have  I  not 
said  that  he  has  the  cunning  of -a  great  thief?" 
Bear  whispered  to  Hathi. 

"But  if  he  talks  much  the  truth  will  come  out," 
answered  the  Elephant. 

"There  were  just  three  of  us  Plain  Dwellers  in 
all  that  great  Barren  Land,"  proceeded  Oohoo; 
"my  kind,  and  Caribou,  and  Musk-Ox." 

"Eu-yah!  the  Musk-Ox  are  cousins  of  mine,"  re 
marked  Bison.  "Queer  taste  they  have  to  live  in 
that  terrible  land  of  rock  and  snow.  What  do  they 
eat,  Oohoo?  Surely  the  sweet  Buffalo  Grass  does 
not  grow  there?" 

"They  do  not  mind  the  cold,"  answered  Wolf; 
"they  have  the  loveliest  long  black  hair  you  ever 
saw  on  any  Animal.  And  under  that  again  is  the 
soft  grey  fur — 

"Yes,"  interrupted  Sa'-zada  to  explain,  "the 
Musk-Ox  seems  to  have  hair,  and  fur,  and  wool  all 
on  one  pelt — much  like  a  Sheep,  and  a  Goat,  and 
a  Bison  combined." 

"And  as  for  eating,"  resumed  Oohoo,  the  Wolf, 
"the  rocks  are  thickly  covered  with  moss — 


1 9  2  THE  S  A'-Z  AD  A  TALES 

"Engh-h-h !  what  a  diet  1"  grunted  Bison.  "But 
you  know  of  their  manner  of  life,  Brother  Wolf — 
you  must  have  paid  much  attention  to  their  ways. 
Now  in  my  land  when  Wolves  came  too  close  we 
gathered  our  Calves  in  the  center  of  the  herd — 

"A  most  wise  precaution,"  asserted  Mooswa. 
"In  the  Calf  time  with  us  the  moan  of  the  Wolf 
pack  caused  us  to  make  ready  for  battle;  the  Grey 
Runners  seemed  always  in  the  way  of  a  great  hun- 
ger." 

"And  what  of  grass-eating  for  those  cousins  of 
mine,  the  Caribou — what  ate  they?"  sharply  de 
manded  Elk. 

"Caribou  have  this  manner  of  life,"  answered 
Oohoo.  "Just  at  the  end  of  the  great  Cold  Time 
all  the  Mothers  go  far  into  the  Northland,  for  that 
is  the  Calf  time  with  them;  and  by  the  shores  of 
the  great  Northland  water  their  Babe  Caribou  come 
forth  in  peace.  And  for  food  the  Mothers  eat  moss, 
even  as  Musk-Ox  does,  for  there  is  nothing  else. 
Near  to  the  coming  of  the  Cold  Time  again  the 
Mothers  come  back  with  their  Calves,  and  the 
Bulls,  who  have  been  in  the  Southland,  meet  them." 

"Do  you  eat  moss,  Oohoo,  the  Wolf?"  queried 
Magh. 

"Am  I  a  Grass-feeder?  Did  I  eat  my  straw 
bedding  and  become  ill,  like  a  wide-mouthed 
Monkey  that  I  know  of?" 

"But  have  you  not  said,  Brother  Wolf,  that  in 
the  Northland  Musk-Ox  and  Caribou  eat  moss  be- 


SHER  ABI,  THE  CROCODILE       193 

cause  there  is  nothing  else?  Then  what  manner  of 
food  do  you  find?" 

"Ghurr-r-h!  Eh,  what?"  gasped  Oohoo,  feel 
ing  that  Magh  had  laid  bare  his  mode  of  life. 

"Am  I  different  from  the  others?"  he  snarled, 
seeing  a  broad  grin  hovering  about  the  mouth  of 
even  Sher  Abi,  the  Crocodile.  "Because  1  am  a 
Wolf,  is  there  a  law  in  the  Boundaries  that  I  shall 
not  eat?  Bagh,  and  Pardus,  and  Python,  and  Sher 
Abi,  they  are  the  Blood  Kind,  and  do  they  eat  moss 
or  grass?  Boar  has  said  that  all  the  evil  of  the 
Jungle  is  fastened  upon  the  Pig,  and  in  my  land  it 
is  the  Wolf  that  is  wicked.  This  has  been  said  by 
the  Man,  but  are  they  not  worse  than  we  are? 
When  the  hunger,  which  is  not  of  my  desire,  comes 
strong  upon  me,  I  go  forth  to  seek  food.  I  kill  not 
Man ;  but  if  Caribou  comes  my  way,  and  that  which 
is  inside  of  me  says  to  make  a  kill,  shall  I  do  so, 
or  lie  down  and  die  because  of  hunger?  If  a  Wolf 
makes  a  kill,  and  feasts  until  his  hunger  is  dead, 
and  lies  down  to.  sleep,  and  kills  no  more  until  he  is 
again  hungered,  it  is  all  wrong,  and  evil  words  are 
spoken  of  him.  But  the  Men  kill,  and  kill,  never 
stopping  to  eat,  showing  that  it  is  not  because  of 
hunger — they  kill  until  there  is  no  living  thing  left; 
then  they  boast  together  of  the  slaughter. 

"I  have  seen  this  happening  at  Fond  du  Lac, 
which  is  a  narrow  crossing  between  two  lakes  in 
my  own  land.  There  the  Caribou  pass  when  they 
go  to  the  Northland;  and  I  have  seen  the  Redmen 


i94  THE  SA'-ZADA  TALES 

killing  these  Moss-eaters  as  they  swam  from  land 
to  land — killing  them  beyond  all  count.  In  the 
Northland  the  Caribou  were  even  as  Buffalo  on  the 
Plains,  they  were  that  many;  and  they  came  like  a 
running  river  to  the  crossing  at  Fond  du  Lac.  The 
Men-kind  were  hidden  behind  stones,  and  when  the 
Caribou  were  in  the  water  these  Red  Slayers  fol 
lowed  in  canoes,  and  killed  with  their  spears,  and 
their  knives,  and  their  guns,  until  everything  was 
red  with  blood.  Not  that  they  needed  the  sweet 
flesh  because  of  hunger,  for  from  many  they  took 
out  the  tongue,  and  left  all  the  rest  to  rot.  We, 
who  are  Wolves,  and  of  evil  repute,  are  not  so  bad 
as  the  Men,  I  think. 

"And  also  the  killing  of  the  Musk-Ox  is  by -the 
Redmen,"  declared  Oohoo. 

"I  am  afraid  we  must  believe  that,"  muttered 
Magh,  "for  Musk-Ox  is  not  here,  and  it  is  a  long 
way  to  the  Northland  for  proof." 

"Neither  here  nor  in  any  other  animal  city  are 
there  Musk-Ox,"  explained  Sa'-zada;  "for  none 
have  been  brought  out  alive." 

"None!"  added  Wolf  solemnly.  "The  Red- 
men  say  that  if  any  are  taken  alive  the  others  will 
all  pass  to  some  other  land  as  did  Buffalo.  Not  but 
that  one  of  the  White  Men  tried  it  once;  but  there 
is  also  a  story  of  Head-taking  I  could  tell." 

"Tell  it,"  snapped  Pardus;  "one  lie  is  as  good  as 
another  when  told  of  a  distant  Jungle." 

"Well  I  remember  that  year,"  began  Oohoo. 


SHER  ABI,  THE  CROCODILE       195 

"It  was  colder  than  any  other  time  that  I  have 
memory  of.  We  had  gathered  into  a  mighty  Pack, 
Comrades;  all  white  we  were — all  but  our  Leader, 
who  was  Black  Wolf.  And  such  hunger  !  E-u-uh, 
au-uh !  I  was  almost  blind  because  of  the  hunger 
pains. 

"The  Caribou  that  should  have  passed  did  not 
come;  why,  I  cannot  say,  for  it  was  their  time  of 
the  year,  the  ending  of  the  Cold  Time." 

"Were  there  no  Musk-Ox?"  insinuated 
Magh. 

"A  Wolf  can  make  few  kills  of  Musk-Ox,"  ex 
plained  Oohoo,  unguardedly;  "that  is — I  mean — a 
bad  Wolf  who  might  seek  a  Kill  of  that  sort.  They 
are  like  Bison,  or  Arna,  bunching  up  close  in  a  pack 
with  their  big-horned  heads  all  facing  out;  and  even 
if  the  circle  is  broken,  what  then?  their  fur  is  so 
thick  that  it  would  take  longer  jaws  than  I  have  to 
cut  a  throat." 

"You've  tried  it,  Oohoo,"  suggested  Magh. 

"No,  I've  heard  of  this  matter,"  he  answered. 
"But  the  story  was  this  way.  That  time  two  White 
Men  came  to  the  Big  Lake — 

"Artillery  Lake,  I  think,"  explained  Sa'-zada. 

"I  know  not,  but  it  is  a  Big  Water,  and  far 
north.  And  there  they  built  a  shack." 

"You  were  interested,"  remarked  Muskwa. 

"There  were  cousins  of  ours,  the  Train  Dogs, 
with  them,  so  I  sometimes  went  close  for  the  chance 
of  a  chat " 


196  THE  SA'-ZADA  TALES 

"The  chance  of  a  Pup,  most  likely,"  growled 
Gidar. 

"Then  one  Man,  with  two  Redmen  and  the  Dog 
Train,  went  north  after  Musk-Ox.  Some  of  us 
followed,  for  we  knew  that  where  the  Men  were 
there  would  be  much  killing,  and  much  eating  left 
for  those  of  a  lean  stomach.  It  might  be  that  some 
of  the  Dogs  would  die  of  toil,  and  we  were  that 
hungry,  that  starved,  that  even  a  Huskie  would  be 
sweet  eating. 

"As  you  know,  Comrades,  there  is  no  timber 
grows  in  all  that  land  beyond  the  Big  Lake,  so  the 
Man  carried  a  little  wood  in  the  Dog  Sled  to  make 
hot  his  drinking " 

"Tea,"  suggested  Sa'-zada. 

"Day  after  day  he  tramped  to  the  North,  not 
seeing  anything  to  kill;  and  all  the  time  wre  were 
getting  hungrier  and  leaner  of  stomach.  At  night 
we  would  come  close  to  the  little  tepee  wherein  the 
Hunter  slept,  and  I  fear  that  something  would  have 
happened  to  him  if  it  had  not  been  for  the  wisdom 
of  our  Leader,  Black  Wolf. 

"  'Wait,  Pack  Comrades,'  he  would  say,  'there 
will  surely  be  a  kill  of  many  Musk-Ox.  I  know 
the  way  of  the  White  Men — they  come  here  but 
for  the  shedding  of  blood.' 

"But  one  night,  being  close  to  the  edge  of  starva 
tion,  seeing  one  of  the  Huskies  come  forth  from 
the  tepee,  not  knowing  what  I  did — Ghur-rh!  I 
had  him  by  the  throat.  Even  now  as  I  remember 


SHER  ABI,  THE  CROCODILE        197 

it,  perhaps  it  was  another  of  the  Pack  that  put  his 
strong  jaws  on  the  Dog's  gullet — yes,  I  think  it  was 
another. 

"  'Ki,  yi-i-i-i !   E-e-eh  !'  he  whined. 

"  'Buh !'  loud  the  Firestick  barked  as  the  White 
Man  smote  at  the  Pack  with  it. 

"After  a  manner  there  was  some  eating  that 
night,  what  with  the  Huskie  and  three  of  our  kind 
the  Man  slew  with  the  Firestick." 

"Cannibal!"  exclaimed  Magh  in  disgust. 

"It  was  to  save  our  lives,"  exclaimed  Oohoo. 
"At  last  the  White  Man  came  to  a  herd  of  Musk- 
Ox;  but  what  think  you  of  the  temper  Black  Wolf 
had  when  he  saw  that  the  Men-kind  were  not  for 
making  a  big  Kill  at  all ;  just  the  matter  of  a  Head 
or  two  to  take  back  with  them." 

"Queer  taste,  sure  enough,"  cried  Cockatoo. 
"Now,  if  it  had  been  a  head  with  a  crest  like 
mine — 

"Or  even  if  it  had  been  Magh's  head,"  insinu 
ated  Pardus. 

"Eu-wh,  eu-u-u-h !  to  think  that  a  Pack  of  fam 
ished  Wolves  had  trailed  so  far  through  the  snow, 
holding  back  from  a  Kill  of  the  Men-kind,  and  to 
get — nothing!  True,  the  Men  killed  for  their  own 
eating  and  the  Dogs',  but  what  was  that  to  a  whole 
Pack  ?  Buh-h-h  !  even  now  it  makes  me  laugh  when 
I  think  of  the  manner  we  tore  down  the  tepee  one 
night,  for  the  Men  had  taken  the  eating  inside  to 
keep  it  from  us. 


i98  THE  SA'-ZADA  TALES 

"After  that,  having  learned  wisdom,  they  killed 
one  of  these  fat  creatures  for  us  each  day.  Ghurrh  ! 
but  a  bite ! 

"And  from  listening  beside  the  tepee  at  night,  I 
learned  that  the  Redmen  were  angry  because  of 
the  Head-taking.  These  Forest-Dwellers  think, 
Comrades,  that  if  they  sell  or  give  away  the 
head  of  a  Kill  all  their  strength  in  the  hunt  will 
depart." 

"It's  a  wondrous  good  thing  to  believe,  too,"  de 
clared  Coyote.  "Many  an  honest  meal  I've  come 
by  when  I  was  woefully  hungry  through  the  matter 
of  a  head  stuck  on  a  pole,  or  stump,  as  a  gift  to 
Matchi-Manitou.  I  remember  one  particularly  fat 
head  of  Muskwa — I  mean — but  you  were  saying, 
Brother  Oohoo,  a  most  interesting  happening  of 
the  Musk-Ox  when  I  interrupted  you." 

"So,  when  the  Redmen  knew  that  it  was  heads 
their  White  Comrade  was  after,  they  were  filled 
with  anger,  and  a  fear  of  the  wrath  of  Manitou; 
they  declared  that  something  of  an  evil  nature 
would  happen  to  them  if  he  took  from  that  land 
the  Heads.  And,  would  you  believe  it,  Comrades, 
whether  there  was  truth  in  the  power  of  this  Head- 
matter  or  not,  I  am  unable  to  say,  being  but  Oohoo 
the  Wolf,  but  two  days  from  that  time,  as  they 
journeyed  back  toward  the  Big  Water,  they  fell  in 
with  a  large  Herd  of  the  round-nosed  Musk-Ox, 
and  the  Wind  wrath  came  upon  them.  The  Red- 
men,  thinking  to  stop  the  taking  of  Heads,  talked 


SHER  ABI,  THE  CROCODILE       199 

to  the  Moss-eaters  in  a  loud  voice,  as  though  they 
were  men,  bidding  them  go  far  over  the  Barren 
Lands  and  tell  all  the  other  Musk-Ox  to  keep  away, 
for  here  was  a  taker  of  Heads.  But  the  White 
Man  only  laughed,  and  killed  a  Bull  Leader  who 
had  a  beautiful  long  black  beard,  swearing  that 
such  a  Head  was  a  prize  indeed. 

"Comrades,  perhaps  there  is  someone  looking 
over  the  lives  of  Animals  who  has  power  with  the 
Wind  and  the  White  Storm.  Of  this  I  know  not, 
but  it  is  a  true  tale  that  even  as  he  cut  the  head 
from  the  dead  Moss-eater,  such  a  storm  as  had  not 
been  in  the  memory  of  any  Dweller  came  with  the 
full  fury  of  a  hungry  Wolf  Pack  down  upon  that 
land.  Like  Pups  of  one  litter  all  of  us  Wolves  hud 
dled  together,  pulling  the  cover  of  our  tails  over 
our  noses  to  keep  the  heat  in.  We  waited;  and 
moved  not  that  day,  nor  that  night,  nor  the  next 
day,  nor  the  night  after  that  again.  Bitter  as  the 
storm  was,  I  almost  laughed  at  Black  Wolf's 
lament.  'Now  the  men  will  be  dead  and  lost  to 
us  when  we  might  have  had  them,'  he  kept  whim 
pering;  'there  will  be  no  more  killing  of  Musk-Ox, 
and  we  shall  go  hungry.' 

"As  we  crawled  out  when  the  storm  ceased,  our 
Leader  went  to  where  the  snow  was  rounded  up  a 
little  higher  than  the  rest.  'Here  is  the  Musk-Ox,' 
said  Black  Wolf;  'let  us  eat.' 

"I  remember,  as  we  dug  at  the  snow  there  was  a 
strong  scent  of  Man.  'It  is  the  Hunter  dead,  I 


200  THE  SA'-ZADA  TALES 

think,'  Black  Wolf  said,  poking  his  nose  down  into 
the  snow. 

"But  all  at  once,  'Buh!'  came  a  hoarse  call  from 
the  Firestick,  and  Black  Wolf,  our  Leader, 
'E-e-he-uhP  fell  over  backward,  dead.  Then  I 
knew  what  it  was.  The  Huntman  had  cut  open 
the  Musk-Ox,  and  crawling  inside,  had  kept  his  life 
warm  through  the  fierce  storm.  But  the  Redmen 
had  gone.  Whether  they  had  died  because  of  the 
storm,  or  trailed  away  because  of  the  Head-taking, 
I  know  not;  but  there  they  were  not.  Close  curled 
against  the  Musk-Ox  had  lain  the  Hunter's  three 
Dogs,  and  they,  too,  were  alive. 

"Then  commenced  such  a  trail  of  a  Man,  Com 
rades,  as  I,  Wolf  though  I  am,  never  wish  to  see 
again.  E-u-uh  !  eu-u-uh !  but  it  was  dreadful,  for  in 
his  face  there  was  the  Fear  Look  that  Hathi  has 
spoken  of.  Night  and  day  it  was  there,  I  think, 
for  he  dared  not  sleep  as  he  hurried  back  toward 
the  Big  Water.  Being  without  a  Leader,  we  were 
like  a  lot  of  Monkeys,  fighting  and  jangling 
amongst  ourselves.  Some  were  for  killing  him,  but 
others  said,  'Wait,  surely  he  will  make  a  kill  of 
Musk-Ox  again,  and  then  we  shall  have  eating — 
what  is  one  Man  to  a  Wolf  Pack  in  the  way  of 
food?' 

"That  day,  coming  up  with  a  Herd,  he  shot  two 
of  the  Moss-eaters,  and,  as  we  ate  of  them,  he 
trailed  to  the  South;  but  that  availed  him  little, 
Comrades,  for  the  swing  of  a  Wolf's  going  is  like 


SHER  ABI,  THE  CROCODILE       201 

the  run  of  a  river;  and  when  he  camped  that  night 
we  also  camped  there.  And  the  next  day,  and  the 
next,  it  was  the  same;  the  Huntman  pushing  on 
with  tiring  walk  striving  for  his  life,  and,  behind 
the  Pack — some  howling  for  a  Kill  of  the  Man, 
and  some  fighting  to  save  him  that  we  might  have 
greater  eating. 

"It  was  the  last  day  before  we  came  to  the  Big 
Water.  That  day,  being  full  famished,  for  we  had 
passed  the  land  of  the  Musk-Ox — though  to  be  sure 
he  had  killed  two  Caribou  for  us — we  ate  his  Dogs, 
and  he  was  fleeing  on  foot. 

"I  must  say,  Comrades,  though  I  lay  no  claim  to 
a  sweet  nature,  yet  I  wished  not  to  make  a  Kill  of 
the  Man.  But  five  times,  as  I  remember  it,  some 
of  the  Pack,  eager  for  his  life,  closed  in  on  him; 
and  five  times  with  the  Firestick  he  slew  many  of 
my  Wolf  Brethren.  Comrades,  he  made  a  brave 
fight  to  reach  the  shack." 

"This  is  a  terrible  tale,"  cried  Magh,  excitedly. 
"Did  he  reach  the  shack  alive,  Oohoo?" 

"Yes,  but  would  you  believe  it,  Comrades,  the 
White  Man  who  had  been  left  behind,  through 
being  alone  and  through  drinking  much  Firewater, 
had  become  mad,  even  as  I  have  seen  a  Wolf  in  the 
time  of  great  heat;  and  he  knew  not  his  Comrade, 
the  Huntman,  but  called  through  the  closed  door, 
'Go  away,  go  away!' 

"  'I  am  Jack,'  called  the  Huntman. 

"  'Jack  is  dead!'  yelped  the  Man  who  was  mad1. 


202  THE  SA'-ZADA  TALES 

'He  is  dead  out  in  the  strong  storm,  and  you  are  an 
evil  spirit — go  away!  go  awayl' 

"Oh,  Hathi,  it  was  dreadful,  dreadful. 

''Let  me  in,  Tom;  I  am  Jack,'  pleaded  the 
Huntman  who  had  come  so  far  through  the  snow ; 
and,  just  beyond,  we  of  the  Wolf  Pack  waited, 
waited,  waited. 

"Sa'-zada,  the  cry  of  the  lone  Wolf  is  not  so 
dreadful  as  the  yelpings  of  the  Man  who  was  mad. 
Even  we  of  the  Wolf  Pack  moved  back  a  little 
when  he  called  with  a  fierce  voice.  And  he  always 
answered:  'Go  away!  You  are  an  evil  spirit.  Jack 
is  dead !  But  I  did  not  kill  him — Go  away !'  And, 
Sa'-zada,  though  it  is  dreadful,  yet  it  is  true,  he 
struck  with  his  Firestick  full  through  the  door,  and 
killed  the  Man  who  was  Jack.  And  in  the  end  he, 
too,  died,  and  the  Wolves  buried  them  both  after 
the  manner  of  Wolves." 

"Chee-hough!  it's  a  terrible  tale,"  said  Magh. 

"It  is  true,"  answered  White  Wolf;  "and  all 
that  is  the  way  of  my  land  which  is  the  Northland. 

"In  the  Hot  Time  sometimes  there  are  the 
little  red  flowers  that  are  roses,  but  in  the  long 
Cold  Time  it  is  as  I  have  said,  cold  and  a  land 
of  much  hunger.  But  it  is  my  land — the  North 
land." 

"Engh-h-hu  !"  sighed  Sher  Abi,  opening  his  eyes 
as  though  just  coming  out  of  a  dream;  "I  had  an 
experience  one  time  very  much  like  that,  Brother 
Wolf." 


'LET  ME  IN,  TOM;  i  AM  JACK,'  PLEADED  THE  HUNT  MAN.' 


SHER  ABI,  THE  CROCODILE       203 

'Of  a  snow  storm,  Slier  Abi?"  queried  Mooswa, 
doubtingly. 

"No,  my  solemn  friend,  I  know  nothing  of  snow ; 
I  speak  of  having  a  Man  inside  of  one.  As  Sa'- 
zada  has  said,  I  think  it's  quite  possible,  and  I'm 
sure  they  must  rest  nice  and  warm,  too." 

"Did  a  Man  cut  you  open,  Magar?"  sneered 
Magh. 

"No,  little  Old  Woman,  he  did  not;  he  was  busy 
that  day  taking  off  your  tail  for  stealing  his  plan 
tains." 

"Tell  us  about  it,  Magar,"  lisped  Python. 
"Wolf's  tale  of  his  snow-land  makes  me  shiver." 

"There  is  not  much  to  tell,"  murmured  Sher 
Abi,  regretfully.  "It  was  all  over  in  a  few  min 
utes,  and  all  an  accident,  too;  and,  besides,  it  was 
only  one  Man.  You  see,  I  was  sunning  myself  on 
a  mud  bank  in  Cherogeah  Creek,  when  I  heard 
'thomp,  thomp,  thomp !'  which  was  the  sound  of  a 
Boatman's  paddle  against  the  side  of  his  log  dug 
out.  I  slid  backward  into  the  water,  keeping  just 
one  eye  above  it  to  see  what  manner  of  traveler  it 
might  be.  It  was  old  Lahbo,  a  villager  who  often 
went  up  and  down  that  creek,  so  I  started  to  swim 
across,  meaning  to  come  up  alongside  of  his  canoe 
and  wish  him  the  favor  of  Buddha.  As  you  know, 
Comrades,  all  Animals  love  these  Buddhists,  for 
their  Master  has  taught  them  not  to  take  the  life  of 
any  Jungle  Dweller. 

"As  I  have  said,   I  was  swimming  across  the 


204  THE  SA'-ZADA  TALES 

creek,  when  Lahbo,  who  must  have  been  asleep, 
suddenly  ran  his  canoe  up  on  my  back.  It  was  such 
a  light  little  dug-out,  too,  quite  narrow,  and  being 
suddenly  startled,  I  jumped,  and  by  some  means 
Lahbo's  canoe  was  upset.  Poor  old  Lahbo !  How 
my  heart  ached  for  him  when  I  heard  him  scream 
in  the  water." 

"Oh,  the  evil  liar!"  whispered  Magh  in  Hathi's 
ear. 

uHush-h!"  whistled  Elephant,  softly,  through 
his  trunk;  "Sher  Abi  was  ever  like  this;  I  know 
him  well.  It  is  just  his  way  of  boasting;  he  knows 
nobody  believes  it." 

"Poor  Lahbo,"  continued  Magar.  "I  swam 
quickly  to  help  him,  picked  him  up  tenderly  in  my 
jaws,  and  started  for  the  shore.  I  would  have 
saved  his  life  in  another  minute,  but  his  cries  had 
gone  to  the  ears  of  some  Villagers,  and  they  were 
now  on  the  bank  of  the  creek,  and  with  two  Fire- 
sticks,  also.  I  was  in  a  terrible  fix,  Comrades;  if 
I  held  my  head  under  water,  poor  Lahbo  would 
drown;  if  I  held  it  up,  the  Village  Men  would  kill 
me  with  the  Firestick." 

"How  did  it  end,  Saver  of  Life?"  asked  Pardus. 
"Did  poor  Lahbo  ask  you  to  swallow  him  to  save 
his  life?" 

"I  really  can't  say  what  did  happen,"  answered 
Sher  Abi.  "To  this  day  tears  come  into  my  eyes 
when  I  think  of  poor  Lahbo.  And  it  was  all  the 
fault  of  the  Villagers,  for  when  the  Firestick 


SHER  ABI,  THE  CROCODILE       205 

coughed,  I  think  the  Man-fear,  that  Hathi  has 
spoken  of,  came  over  him,  for  he  commenced  to 
wriggle  about  so  that  I  couldn't  hold  him.  I  was 
so  careful,  too,  for  my  teeth  are  sharp,  and  I  was 
afraid  of  hurting  him.  But,  anyway,  before  I  knew 
it,  Ee-eh-he !  he  had  slipped  down  my  throat;  poor 
Lahbo !  And  do  you  know,  Comrades,  I'm  a  little 
afraid  I'm  not  done  with  him  yet,  for  he  had  a  big 
two-handed  dah  (sword)  in  his  waist-band,  and 
I  know  that  some  of  the  pains  I  feel  at  times  are 
due  to  that;  there's  nothing  so  hard  to  digest  as  a 
Burmese  dah.  And  to  this  day,  Comrades,  some 
times  when  I'm  jumping  about  it  seems  to  me  that 
bangles  and  rings  that  are  inside  of  me  string  them 
selves  on  that  sword — I  fancy  at  times  I  can  hear 
them  jingle." 

"How  did  you  come  to  have  bangles  inside  of 
you?"  asked  Magh  most  solicitously. 

"Engh-hu  !  little  Moon-face,  you  make  me  very 
tired.  If  any  one  tells  a  tale  you  try  to  put  false 
words  into  his  mouth." 

"And  bangles,"  snapped  Magh. 

"Who  spoke  of  bangles?"  asked  Sher  Abi.  "I 
said  not  that  they  were  bangles,  but  that  it  was 
like  that — the  pains  I  mean.  Perhaps  even  Lahbo 
dropped  the  dah  overboard,  for  all  I  know.  And 
look  here,  little  one,  Moon-faced  Languar,  if  you 
doubt  what  I  say,  you  may  go  inside  and  see  for 
yourself." 

"How    came   you    to   this   place,    Shcr   Abi?" 


2o6  THE  SA'-ZADA  TALES 

asked  Mooswa.  "Did  the  Villagers  catch  you 
then?" 

"Not  that  time.  But  once,  hearing  a  Pariah 
Dog  in  great  distress,  I  thought  he  called  to  me 
for  aid,  even  as  poor  Lahbo  had  done,  so  I  swam 
quickly  to  lend  him  help " 

"Poor  Dog,"  jeered  Magh. 

"But  it  was  all  a  vile  trick  of  the  Men-kind," 
declared  Magar;  "though  at  the  time,  not  knowing 
of  this,  I  paid  no  heed  to  the  matter.  There  were 
two  long  rows  of  stakes  in  the  water  coming  close 
together  at  one  end— 

"Lough-hu  !  I  know,"  murmured  Buffalo;  "the 
walls  of  a  stockade." 

"Yes,"  sighed  Sher  Abi.  "And  as  I  pushed 
through  the  small  end,  the  poor  Dog  being  just 
beyond,  and  in  great  distress,  a  big  rope  drew  tight 
about  my  neck,  and  before  I  could  so  much  as 
object,  many  of  the  Men-kind  pulled  me  out  on  to 
the  dry  land.  Then  I  was  sent  here  to  Sa'-zada." 

"Well,  well,"  murmured  Hathi,  "it  seems  to  me 
that  every  Jungle-Dweller  thinks  he's  badly 
treated,  but  judging  from  all  the  tales  I've  heard 
I  think  we've  all  got  our  faults — I  think  we're 
nearly  as  bad  as  the  Men-kind." 

"My  people  are  not,"  objected  Buffalo;  "we 
never  did  harm  to  anyone." 

"Neither  did  we,"  exclaimed  Mooswa. 

"Nor  we,"  added  Elk;  and  soon  the  clamor  be 
came  general,  all  holding  that  the  Men-kind  who 


SHER  ABI,  THE  CROCODILE       207 

killed  almost  every  animal  for  the  sake  of  taking 
its  life,  and  not  because  they  were  driven  to  it  by 
lean  stomachs,  were  much  worse  than  the  Jungle- 
Dwellers. 

"Well,  well,"  decided  Hathi,  "it  seems  that  most 
of  you  are  against  me,  anyway.  I  think  Buffalo  is 
right  in  what  he  says,  but  some  of  us  have  done 
much  wrong  to  the  Men-kind — 

"Meaning  me,  of  course,"  ejaculated  Wild  Boar. 
"I,  who  lay  no  claim  to  being  good,  and  who  am 
counted  the  worst  of  all  Animals,  say,  with  Buffalo, 
that  the  Men-kind  have  done  more  harm  to  me 
than  I  to  them,  and  have  been  of  less  benefit  to  me 
than  I  to  them." 

Then  Sa'-zada  spoke  :  "Comrades,  this  is  a  ques 
tion  that  we  can't  settle.  If  we  were  all  like  the 
Buddhists,  and  took  no  life  except  because  of  great 
need,  perhaps  it  would  be  better.  But  now  you 
must  all  go  back  to  your  cages  and  corrals  to  sleep." 


Twelfth    Night 

The  Story  of  Sa'-Zada,    "Zoo' 
Keeper 


J 


TWELFTH  NIGHT 

THE  STORY  OF  SA;-ZADA,  THE  "ZOO"  KEEPER 

IT  was  the  twelfth  night  of  the  Sa'-zada  stories. 
For  eleven  evenings  Tiger,  and  Leopard,  and 
the  others  had  told  of  their  manner  of  life,  with 
more  or  less  relevancy.  This  night  Sa'-zada,  the 
little  Master,  was  to  speak  of  his  jungle  and  forest 
experience. 

Magh,  the  Orang,  was  filled  with  a  joyous  an 
ticipation.  Perched  as  usual  on  Hathi's  broad  fore 
head,  she  gave  expression  to  little  squeaks  of  en 
joyment. 

Once  even  she  stuck  out  her  long,  elastic  under- 
lip  and  broke  into  the  little  jungle  song  she  always 
had  resource  to  when  pleasantly  excited : 

"Co-oo-oo-oo-oo!  Co-wough,  wough-oo!"  with 
a  rising  inflection  that  made  the  listener's  ears 
tingle.  She  even  danced  a  modest  can-can  on 
Hathi's  patient  old  head. 

The  Keeper  came  briskly  up  the  walk,  and  pat 
ting  Hathi's  trunk  affectionately  as  it  was  held  out 
to  him,  sat  on  the  grass  with  his  back  against  Moos- 
wa's  side. 

"Well,   Comrades,"   he  commenced,   "before   I 


2 1 2  THE  SA'-ZADA  TALES 

came  to  a  state  of  friendship  with  the  Jungle  Dwell 
ers,  I  was  like  a  great  many  others  of  my  kind,  and 
thought  the  only  pleasure  to  be  got  from  animals 
was  in  killing  them." 

"It  is  the  beginning  of  a  true  talk,"  commented 
Pardus. 

"And,  so,  in  that  time  I  hunted  a  great  deal," 
continued  Sa'-zada.  "When  I  first  went  to  Burma 
to  live,  my  bungalow  was  just  on  the  edge  of 
the  Jungle,  and  some  of  the  Dwellers  were  al 
ways  forcing  their  presence  upon  me — either 
Snakes,  or  Jackals,  or  Jaruk  the  Hyena,  or  the 
Bandar-Log;  and  one  night  even  a  Rogue  Ele 
phant " 

"Hum-p-p-ph !  he  should  have  been  prodded 
with  a  sharp  tusk,"  commented  Hathi. 

"A  Rogue  Elephant,"  continued  Sa'-zada,  "came 
down  and  played  basket-ball  with  my  garden  and 
bamboo  cook-house.  Gidar  the  Jackal,  with  a 
dozen  companions,  used  to  gut  my  kitchen,  and 
then  sit  out  in  the  moonlight  and  howl  at  me  in 
derision." 

"We  sing  at  night  because  we  can't  help  it,  and 
not  because  of  ill  will  to  the  Men-kind,"  corrected 
Gidar. 

"Well,  one  night,  as  the  Jackals  were  in  the 
middle  of  a  heavy  chorus,  they  suddenly  ceased;  a 
silence  as  of  death  came  over  everything;  it  seemed 
as  though  all  life  had  gone  miles  away  from  that 
part  of  the  country.  Then  came  a  hoarse  call  which 
shook  my  little  bungalow " 


SA'-ZADA,  THE  "ZOO"  KEEPER    213 

"I  know,"  interrupted  Gidar,  "when  we  stop 
singing  and  move  away  silently  it  is  to  make  room 
for  Bagh  the  Killer.  We  object  to  being  seen  in 
the  company  of  a  murderer  like  that." 

"Yes,  it  was  Tiger,"  asserted  Sa'-zada,  "and 
two  Sahibs,  who  were  my  companions,  and,  like 
myself,  new  to  the  country,  determined  to  get 
him. 

So  next  evening  we  took  a  Goat  and  tied  it  just 
inside  the  Jungle,  each  one  of  us  lying  down  on  the 
ground  at  a  short  distance  from  our  bait.  But  the 
Goat  commenced  to  browse  quietly  and  refused  to 
bleat.  I  tried  jumping  him  up  and  down  by  the 
tail  and  back  of  his  neck,  and  he'd  bleat  just  as 
long  as  I'd  pump.  At  last  I  tied  him  up  so  that 
he  stood  on  his  hind  legs,  and  he  called  then  with 
full  vigor.  For  the  matter  of  an  hour  we  lay  thus, 
when  presently,  behind  me,  I  heard  the  stealthy 
step  of  some  huge  Jungle  Dweller  coming  for  the 
Goat. 

"It  was  the  most  deliberate  animal  I  had  ever 
waited  for;  it  seemed  hours  that  those  carefully 
planted  feet  had  been  heading  towards  the  back  of 
my  head.  I  could  see  nothing,  for  I  was  facing  the 
other  way,  and  I  dared  not  turn  over  for  fear  of 
frightening  the  approaching  Tiger  away.  This  is 
a  true  tale,  Comrades,  and  I  did  not  like  overmuch 
the  idea  of  Bagh  or  Pardus,  whichever  it  might  be, 
pouncing  upon  me  from  behind." 

"And  they  would  do  it,"  declared  Gidar,  "for 


2 1 4  THE  S A'-ZADA  TALES 

there  is  a  saying  in  their  tribe  that  "a  kill  from 
behind  is  a  kill  of  skill.'  " 

"Were  you  afraid,  little  Master?"  asked 
Hathi. 

"I  didn't  like  it,"  answered  Sa'-zada,  evasively. 

"I've  lain  close  hid  in  the  Elephant  Grass."  said 
Bagh,  "when  a  mighty  drive  of  the  Sahibs  was  on; 
and  perhaps  you  felt  that  time,  O  Sa'-zada,  even 
as  I  did." 

"I,  too,  have  heard  the  Pigstickers  galloping, 
galloping  all  about  a  little  nulla  where  I  have 
sought  for  safety  and  the  chance  of  my  life,"  added 
Wild  Boar,  "and  it's  dreadful.  If  all  the  Sahibs 
could  have  known  that  feeling,  even  as  you 
did,  O  Sa'-zada,  perhaps  they  would  hunt  us 
less." 

"Perhaps,"  answered  the  Keeper;  "but  I  could 
hear  the  great  animal  creeping,  oh,  so  carefully, 
step  by  step,  hardly  a  twig  shifting  under  his  cau 
tious  feet — only  a  little  soft  rustle  of  the  leaves  as 
they  whispered  to  the  sleepy  night  air  that  some 
thing  of  evil  was  afoot.  It  got  on  my  nerves,  I 
must  say,  for  I  knew  that  I  had  not  one  chance  in 
a  thousand  if  Bagh  were  to  spring  upon  me  from 
behind.  A  fair  fight  I  did  not  mind.  I  dared  not 
even  whisper  to  my  companions,  for  they  were  a 
short  distance  from  me,  lest  I  should  frighten  the 
quarry  away.  When  the  soft-moving  feet  were 
within  five  yards  of  my  head  they  became  silent, 
and  I  felt  that  the  great  animal,  Bagh  or  Pardus, 


SA'-ZADA,  THE  "ZOO"  KEEPER    215 

or  some  other  Killer,  was  crouched  ready  for  a 
spring. 

"One  minute,  two  minutes,  an  hour — perhaps 
half  the  night  I  seemed  waiting  for  something  to 
happen.  The  suspense  was  dreadful.  One  of  my 
comrades  had  heard  the  footsteps,  too,  for  I  could 
see  his  rifle  gleam  in  the  moonlight  as  he  held  it 
ready  to  fire  at  sight  of  the  animal.  The  strain 
was  so  trying  that  I  almost  wished  Bagh  would 
charge. 

"But  at  last  my  nerves  got  the  better  of  me  and 
I  turned  over  on  my  face,  bringing  my  Express  up 
to  receive  the  visitor.  The  noise  startled  him,  and 
with  a  hoarse  bark  he  was  off  into  the  Jungle.  It 
was  only  little  ribbed-faced  Barking  Deer,  who  had 
come  out  of  curiosity  to  see  what  the  Goat  was 
making  a  row  about." 

Hathi  gave  a  great  sigh  of  relief,  for  the  Little 
Master's  story  of  thrilling  danger  had  worked  him 
up  to  a  pitch  of  excited  interest. 

"I  remember  a  little  tale  of  a  happening,"  said 
Arna  the  Buffalo.  "We  were  a  herd  of  at  least 
twenty,  lying  in  a  bit  of  nice,  soft  muddy  land,  for 
it  was  a  wondrous  hot  day,  I  remember,  when  sud 
denly  right  through  the  midst  of  us  walked  a  Sahib, 
and  with  him  was  one  of  the  Black  Men-kind.  By 
his  manner  I  knew  that  he  had  not  seen  us,  being 
half-buried  as  we  were  in  the  jhiL  Just  beyond 
where  we  rested  was  a  plain  of  the  dry  grass  Eat 
ing,  and  to  that  our  enemies  the  Men  passed.  Com- 


2 1 6  THE  SA'-ZADA  TALES 

rades,  the  method  of  our  doing  you  know,  when 
there  is  danger.  If  it  is  far  away,  and  we  see  it, 
we  go  quickly  from  its  presence,  as  is  right  for  all 
Jungle  Dwellers ;  but  should  it  come  suddenly  close 
upon  us  we  fight  with  a  strength  that  even  Bagh 
dreads. 

"As  I  have  said,  seeing  the  Sahib  so  close, 
our  Leader  sprang  up  and  snorted  in  anger. 
Now  Bagh,  when  he  is  in  an  evil  temper, 
roars  loudly;  but  we,  being  people  of  little 
voice,  trusting  more  to  our  horns  than  to  noise, 
only  call  'Eng-ugh!'  before  we  charge.  So, 
when  our  Leader  called  twice,  we  rushed  out 
into  the  field  where  was  this  Sahib.  I  remem 
ber  well,  the  Black  man  ran  with  great  speed 
across  the  Plain,  but  the  Sahib  faced  us.  In  his 
eyes  there  was  a  look  such  as  I  have  seen  in  the 
eyes  of  another  Bull  when  I  have  challenged  him, 
and  it  was  a  question  whether  we  should  fight  or 
not. 

"But  fear  came  not  to  this  Man,"  added  Arna, 
decidedly,  "for  as  we  raced  down  upon  him,  he 
smote  at  us  with  his  Firestick,  and  taking  the  cover 
that  was  on  his  head— 

"His  helmet,"  suggested  Sa'-zada. 

"The  cover  in  his  hand,"  proceeded  Arna, 
"charged  full  at  us,  calling  us  evil  names  in  a  loud 
voice.  I  know  not  which  of  us  turned  in  his  gallop, 
but  certain  it  is  that  the  herd  passed  on  either  side 
of  the  Man  and  he  was  not  hurt." 


SA'-ZADA,  THE  "ZOO"  KEEPER    217 

"But  did  you  not  turn  and  trample  him?"  asked 
Boar. 

"No,"  answered  Arna;  "when  we  charge  we 
charge,  and  there's  an  end  of  it." 

"That  is  also  our  way,"  concurred  Bagh,  "ex 
cept,  perhaps,  when  we  are  struck  by  the  Firestick, 
then  sometimes  we  turn  and  charge  back." 

"By-the-memory-of-honey !"  said  Muskwa  the 
Bear,  "I  should  like  to  hear  a  tale  from  Sa'-zada 
of  my  people." 

"Well,"  declared  the  Keeper,  "there  was  a  hap 
pening  in  connection  with  Muskwa's  cousin, 
Grizzly,  that  makes  me  tremble — I  mean,  calls  up 
rather  unpleasant  memories  to  this  day." 

"I'm  glad  of  that — Whuf !  glad  we're  to  have 
the  story,"  corrected  Muskwa,  apologetically. 

"It  was  in  the  Rocky  Mountains,"  began  Sa'- 
zada,  "in  the  South  Kootenay  Pass.  I  was  after 
Big  Horn,  the  Mountain  Sheep,  with  two  Com 
rades,  and  a  guide  called  Eagle  Child,  when  we 
saw  a  big  Grizzly  coming  down  the  side  of  a  moun 
tain  called  the  Camel's  Back. 

"Now,  Eagle  Child  was  a  man  very  eager  to  do 
big  things,  so,  almost  without  asking  my  consent, 
he  laid  out  the  whole  plan  of  campaign.  On  the 
side  of  the  Camel's  Back  Mountain  grew  a  spruce 
forest,  and  through  this  snow  avalanches  had 
ploughed  roadways,  from  top  to  bottom,  looking 
like  the  streets  of  a  city.  Eagle  Child  called  to 
me  as  he  forded  the  mountain  stream  on  his  Horse 


2 1 8  THE  SA'-ZADA  TALES 

that  he  would  go  up  one  of  these  snow  roads  and 
get  the  Grizzly,  or  turn  him  down  another  one  for 
me. 

"Now,  Comrades,  Muskwa  here  is  a  man  of 
peace,  loving  his  honey  and  his  Ants,  but  Grizzly 
is  one  to  interview  with  great  caution,  and  my  Com 
rade,  Eagle  Child,  being  a  man  of  unwise  haste, 
you  will  understand,  Comrades,  that  I  expected 
strange  happening  when  he  started  to  interfere  with 
Grizzly's  evening  plans,  for  it  was  toward  the  end 
of  the  day." 

"It  is  not  wise  to  meddle  with  one  of  a  short 
temper,"  declared  Hathi. 

"I  am  not  one  of  a  short  temper,"  objected 
Grizzly.  "I  seek  a  quarrel  with  no  one;  but,  per 
haps,  if  this  man,  who  was  Sa'-zada's  comrade, 
sought  to  make  a  kill  of  one  of  our  kind,  there  may 
have  been  trouble.  If  I  am  of  a  great  strength 
why  is  that — is  it  so  that  I  may  be  killed  easily? 
Have  I  not  strong  claws  just  as  Bagh  has  his  teeth, 
and  Boar  his  tusks,  and  Python  his  strength  of 
squeeze? — even  also  have  I  somewhat  of  a  squeeze 
myself.  And  shall  I  not  use  these  things  that  I 
have,  as  do  the  other  Forest  Dwellers  when  their 
desire  is  to  live?  I  am  not  like  Elk  that  can  gallop 
fast — flee  from  a  slayer.  And  so,  if  I,  being  strong, 
fight  for  my  life,  it  is  temper,  eh?  Wough  !  I  am 
as  I  am.  But  go  on,  Little  Master — tell  us  of  this 
happening." 

"As    I    was    saying,"    recommenced    Sa'-zada, 


SA'-ZADA,  THE  "ZOO"  KEEPER    219 

"when  Eagle  Child  in  his  great  eagerness  started 
after  that  Bear,  I  had  an  idea  there  would  be  fun, 
and  there  was — though  I  must  say  that  I  followed 
up  to  give  him  some  help." 

"There  was  no  harm  in  that,"  said  Grizzly, 
magnanimously.  "Comrades  of  the  same  kind 
must  help  each  other." 

"That  Eagle  Child  had  ridden  up  to  meet  the 
Grizzly  was  in  itself  a  fair  promise  for  excitement, 
but  also  his  Cayuse  was  one  of  the  jerkiest  brutes 
ever  ridden  by  anybody.  He  had  a  great  dislike 
for  spurs." 

"Quite  right,  too,"  bubbled  Unt  the  Camel;  "I 
remember  a  Cavalry  Man  on  my  back  once " 

Sa'-zada  interrupted  Camel,  and  continued:  "A 
dig  from  the  spurs  and  the  Cayuse  would  refuse  to 
budge;  but,  of  course,  the  rider  knew  that. 

"Eagle  Child  thought  that  the  Bear  was  working 
down  in  a  certain  direction,  but,  as  you  know,  Com 
rades,  Muskwa  is  a  fellow  of  many  notions,  turning 
and  twisting  and  changing  his  course  beyond  all 
calculations." 

"Yes,  we  are  like  that,"  assented  Muskwa.  "It 
is  our  manner  of  life.  We  find  our  food  in  small 
parts,  and  in  many  places — berries  here,  and  Ants 
there,  and  perhaps  Honey  on  the  other  side.  We 
are  not  like  Bagh,  who  goes  straight  for  his  Kill, 
for  we  must  keep  a  sharp  lookout  or  we  shall  find 
nothing." 

"Well,  Grizzly  evidently  turned,  for,  while  my 


220  THE  SA'-ZADA  TALES 

Guide  was  looking  for  him  in  one  direction,  he 
bounced  out  not  ten  yards  from  the  Cayuse  from 
a  totally  different  quarter.  This  rather  startled 
Eagle  Child;  and,  though  he  should  have  known 
better,  he  dug  the  silly  spurs  into  his  erratic  tem 
pered  Horse,  with  the  result  that  the  latter  balked 
— bucked  up  like  a  stubborn  mule. 

"This  looked  as  though  he  meant  to  stop  and 
fight  it  out — the  Grizzly  evidently  thought  so,  for 
he  gave  a  snort  of  rage  and  tore  down  the  moun 
tain  full  at  his  enemy.  I  dared  not  shoot  for  fear 
of  striking  my  comrade;  but  one  bullet  wouldn't 
have  mattered,  anyway;  it  wouldn't  have  stopped 
the  charging  Grizzly.  Luckily  for  Eagle  Child, 
his  Horse  reared  just  as  the  Bear  arrived,  and 
though  he  was  sent  flying,  Muskwa's  cousin  did 
not  succeed  in  clawing  him,  his  time  being  taken  up 
in  making  little  pieces  of  the  Horse.  Eagle  Child 
arrived  at  the  foot  of  the  mountain  very  rapidly, 
for  all  this  had  happened  at  the  top  of  a  long  shale 
cut  bank,  and  he  did  not  look  for  smooth  paths,  but 
just  came  away  without  regard  to  the  means  of 
transport." 

"And  is  that  all  of  the  tale?"  inquired  Magh, 
with  a  rather  disappointed  air,  for  she  had  hoped 
to  hear  of  Muskwa's  getting  the  worst  of  the  en 
counter. 

"Not  by  any  means,"  answered  Sa'-zada;  "that 
was  but  the  beginning.  My  comrade  being  out  of 
the  way,"  he  continued,  "I  fired  at  Grizzly." 


'THE  GRIZZLY  .      .  BOUNCED  OUT  NOT  TEN  YARDS  FROM  THE  CAYUSE." 


SA'-ZADA,  THE  "ZOO"  KEEPER    221 

"To  kill  him?"  exclaimed  Mooswa,  reproach 
fully. 

"That  was  before  I  was  comrade  to  the  Jungle 
Dwellers,"  apologized  the  Keeper — "before  I 
knew  they  were  more  interesting  alive  than  dead. 
And  I  fear  I  struck  him,  too,"  he  added,  "for  when 
he  had  finished  knocking  the  Horse  to  pieces  we 
saw  him  go  up  the  side  of  the  Camel's  Back  limp 
ing  as  though  a  leg  had  been  broken." 

"That  was  a  shame,"  declared  Mooswa. 

"It  would  have  been  a  great  shame,  an  outrage," 
asserted  Bagh,  "if  I,  or  Pardus,  or  even  Hathi 
had  broken  the  leg  of  a  Man;  we  would  have  been 
hunted  by  a  drove  of  twenty  Elephants,  and  many 
of  the  Men-kind." 

"But,"  objected  Magh,  "as  Sa'-zada  has  said, 
that  was  before  he  had  proper  wisdom,  so  we  bear 
him  no  malice.  Even  Muskwa  does  not,  do  you, 
old  Shaggy  Sides?" 

"No,  I  did  not  know  the  law  of  life  then,"  said 
the  Keeper;  "and  Eagle  Child  and  myself  followed 
after  poor  old  wounded  Grizzly  and  in  our  hearts 
was  a  desire  for  his  life.  Eagle  Child  was  cross 
because  I  had  laughed  at  him  when  he  came  down 
all  covered  with  mud,  also  he  had  lost  a  Horse. 
He  swore  that  he  would  kill  that  Bear  if  it  took  a 
week." 

"I  know,"  commented  Hathi,  swinging  his  trunk 
sideways  and  lifting  Jaruk  off  his  feet  with  a  blow 
in  the  ribs  as  if  by  accident.  "I  hate  the  smell  of 


222  THE  SA'-ZADA  TALES 

that  Jungle  Scavenger,"  he  confided  to  Magh  in  a 
whisper.  "I  know,"  he  continued  aloud,  "I've 
heard  the  Sahibs  swear  often,  over  a  less  matter 
than  the  killing  of  a  Horse,  too." 

"We  thought  that  Grizzly  was  badly  wounded 
and  couldn't  go  far,  and  that  we  should  soon  come 
within  range  of  him  up  amongst  the  rocks." 

"Of  course,  he  went  up,  having  a  broken  leg," 
declared  Pardus;  "that's  the  way  with  all  Forest 
Dwellers — one  pitches  going  down  on  three  legs." 

"But  it  was  getting  late,  so  we  hurried  fast.  I 
had  tied  my  Horse  to  a  tree,  for  the  climb  was 
steep.  Up,  up,  up  we  went;  sometimes  catching 
sight  of  Grizzly,  sometimes  seeing  a  drop  of 
blood " 

"Dreadful,"  whimpered  Mooswa.  "Why 
should  Men  be  so  eager  to  see  the  blood  of  Forest 
Dwellers  who  have  not  harmed  them?" 

"Sometimes  we  saw  blood  on  the  rocks,"  pro 
ceeded  Sa'-zada,  "and  sometimes  we  followed 
Grizzly's  trail  by  the  mark  of  a  stone  upturned 
where  his  strong  claws  had  been  planted.  Once 
I  got  another  shot  at  him,  and  struck  him,  too,  but, 
as  Greybeard  here  might  tell  you,  a  Grizzly  is  like 
Arna,  he  can  carry  off  the  matter  of  twenty  bullets 
unless  they  happen  upon  his  heart  or  brain." 

"That  is  even  so,"  concurred  Grizzly.  "Whuff  ! 
I  have  at  least  a  dozen  in  my  own  body.  The  Men 
seek  to  improve  our  tempers  after  that  manner." 

"It  was  getting  late,"  resumed  Sa'-zada,   "but 


SA'-ZADA,  THE  "ZOO"  KEEPER    223 

still  we  continued  upward,  the  Bear  holding  on  with 
great  strength.  It  was  October,  and  in  the  hollows 
of  the  upper  ranges  snow  was  lying  like  a  white 
apron  in  a  nurse's  lap.  'He  went  this  way,'  said 
the  guide  to  me,  pointing  to  a  narrow  ledge  of  rock 
around  the  side  of  a  cliff,  with  a  drop  from  it  of  a 
thousand  feet. 

"Now,  Eagle  Child  was  a  Stony  Indian,  and 
they  are  like  Mountain  Sheep  in  their  ability  to 
climb.  We  had  to  work  our  way  down  carefully 
to  this  ledge,  helping  each  other  lest  we  fall,  and 
even  when  it  was  reached  the  yawn  of  the  valley 
a  thousand  feet  below  caused  me  to  tremble.  So, 
cautiously  we  worked  along  this  narrow  path,  and, 
as  we  rounded  the  point,  to  our  great  fear  we  saw 
that  we  could  go  no  farther — a  dead  wall  stood 
two  hundred  feet  high  in  front  of  us.  Slowly,  cau 
tiously,  we  turned  our  bodies,  and  went  back;  and 
then  we  saw  what  we  had  overlooked  in  our  eager 
ness  for  poor  old  Grizzly's  life — we  could  not  get 
up  the  way  we  had  come  down — we  were  trapped." 

"It's  a  dreadful  feeling,"  declared  Pardus,  "to 
be  caught  in  a  Trap — though  there  were  no  Men 
enemies  about  you,  Sa'-zada,  to  make  it  worse." 

"Or  to  be  shut  up  in  a  Keddah,"  muttered  Hathi 
— "it's  awful.  To  be  taken  out  of  one's  nice  pleas 
ant  jungle  and  led  into  a  Keddah  trap  with  those  of 
the  Men-kind  trumpeting  and  calling,  and  even 
those  of  our  own  tribe,  Elephant,  taking  part 
against  us." 


224  THE  SA'-ZADA  TALES 

"Was  that  what  made  you  friend  to  the  Jungle 
Dwellers,  Sa'-zada?"  asked  Muskwa. 

"At  the  time,"  answered  the  Keeper,  "I  thought 
only  of  the  dreadful  fix  we  were  in.  Below,  a 
thousand  feet  or  more,  the  sharp  tops  of  the  spruce 
and  cedar  stood  like  spears — 

"I've  felt  a  spear  in  my  shoulder,  ugh,  ugh !  it 
drives  one  fair  mad  with  fear  and  pain,"  grunted 
Boar. 

"Under  our  feet  was  a  narrow  ledge  of  rock  not 
the  width  of  Hathi's  back;  behind  us,  and  on  either 
side  of  us,  the  cliffs  ran  up  hundreds  of  feet.  On 
the  upper  peak  of  the  Camel's  Back  a  snowstorm 
was  shutting  out  the  last  grey  light  of  day — the 
darkness  of  night  was  fast  coming  on.  I  could  see 
nothing  for  it  but  to  stand  perfectly  straight  with 
our  backs  to  the  rock  wall  all  through  the  bitter 
night  and  talk  to  each  other  to  keep  sleep  away. 
The  next  day  our  comrades  might  find  us,  and  let 
down  a  rope  to  help  us  up." 

"You  could  also  think  in  the  night  of  how  wre 
feel,  O  Little  Brother,  when  we  are  hunted,"  de 
clared  Pardus.  "Even  perhaps  Grizzly  with  his 
broken  leg  had  to  lie  on  some  rock,  afraid  to  travel 
in  the  night  lest  he  fall." 

"Yes,  it  was  a  good  time  to  think  of  the  troubles 
of  Jungle  Dwellers,"  concurred  Hathi. 

"I  thought  of  many  things,"  said  the  Keeper, 
softly;  "and  but  for  Eagle  Child  I  fear  I  should 
have  fallen  a  dozen  times;  I  felt  his  hand  on 


SA'-ZADA,  THE  "ZOO"  KEEPER    225 

my  arm  more  than  once  pressing  me  against  the 
wall.  But  at  last  morning  came.  I  never  felt 
so  cold  in  my  life,  for,  you  see,  we  dared  not 
move  about.  But  it  was  noon  before  I  saw 
my  two  comrades  riding  up  the  valley  looking  for 
us. 

"Eagle  Child  called,  'Hi,  yi,  yi— oh,  yi!'  The 
rocks  threw  his  voice  far  out,  and  they  heard  it.  It 
took  them  a  long  time  to  climb  up  to  the  place  from 
where  we  had  descended.  They  had  brought  their 
lassos  with  them,  for  they  knew  that  we  were  cut 
off;  and  soon,  but  with  much  cautious  labor,  we 
were  safe." 

"And  what  of  Grizzy?"  asked  Muskwa,  solici 
tously. 

"I  hope  he,  too,  got  away  all  right,"  answered 
Sa'-zada,  "for  I  never  saw  him  again — we  did  not 
follow  him." 

"I  think  Wie-sah-ke-chack  led  you  to  that  place, 
Little  Master,  to  give  Grizzly  a  chance  for  his 
life,"  commented  Mooswa. 

"I  like  our  Master's  story,"  declared  Hathi; 
"so  often  I've  heard  the  Sahibs  boasting  of  the 
Animals  they  have  killed,  but  Sa'-zada  tells  only  of 
the  times  fear  came  to  him  because  of  his  wrong 
doing." 

"That  happening  was  of  Greybeard,  and  he  is 
but  a  cousin  of  mine,"  complained  Muskwa  the 
Black  Rear.  "Did  you  never  meet  with  my  family, 
Little  Master?" 


226  THE  SA'-ZADA  TALES 

"If  you  insist  upon  it,  Muskwa,"  answered 
the  Keeper,  "I  might  tell  a  little  tale  of  your 
people." 

"I  should  like  that — do,"  pleaded  Black  Bear; 
"in  all  the  stories  there  has  been  nothing  of  our 
doing." 

"But  they  were  also  only  relatives  of  yours, 
though  they  were  black,  for  the  happening  was  in 
India,  and  there  they  are  called  Bhalu  the  Bear. 
And  the  happening  was  not  of  my  doing,  either, 
for  I  was  hunting  Bagh,  the  Tiger." 

"Every  hunter  takes  me  for  a  choice,"  growled 
Raj  Bagh. 

"But  this  was  a  bad  Tiger,"  declared  Sa'-zada; 
"he  had  killed  many  people." 

"And  what  of  that — Waugh-houk  1  what  of  that, 
Little  Master?"  demanded  Raj  Bagh.  "Have  not 
many  people  killed  many  of  my  kind — are  they  not 
always  killing  us?" 

"Still  the  Little  Master  is  right,"  objected 
Hathi.  "If  a  Bull  Elephant  becomes  Rogue,  and, 
neglecting  his  proper  eating  which  is  in  the  Jungle, 
goes  seeking  to  kill  the  Men-kind,  does  he  not 
surely  come  into  trouble?" 

"But  we  be  flesh  eaters  and  slayers  of  life,"  an 
swered  Raj  Bagh. 

"Even  so,  though  that  were  better  otherwise,  but 
do  you  not  know  of  your  own  people  that  the  Men- 
kind  are  not  for  Kill?  Before  all  other  Dwellers 
of  the  Jungle  you  stand  forth  and  are  ready  to 


SA'-ZADA,  THE  "ZOO"  KEEPER    227 

battle,  but  just  the  scent  of  Man  causes  you  to  slink 
away  like  Jaruk  the  Hyena." 

"I  think  that  is  true,"  commented  Mooswa. 
"Wie-sah-ke-chack  has  arranged  all  that." 

Said  the  Keeper :  "It  is  not  right  to  kill  the  ani 
mals  as  men  do,  for  sport,  but  when  Bagh,  or  any 
other  Jungle  Dweller,  turns  Man-eater,  he  should 
die." 

"And  Sher  Abi,  too,"  squeaked  Magh;  "his 
tribe  are  all  Man-eaters — they  should  be  all 
killed." 

"At  any  rate,"  continued  the  Keeper,  "I  was 
after  this  Man-eater.  I  had  a  machan  built  in  a 
Pipal  tree,  and  a  Buffalo  calf  tied  up  near  it— 

"One  of  your  young,  Arna,"  said  Bagh,  vin 
dictively. 

"And  early  in  the  evening  I  climbed  into  my 
machan  and  prepared  for  Mister  Stripes." 

"That's  Man's  way,"  sneered  Raj  Bagh. 
"What  chance  have  we  against  them  up  in 
a  machan?  No  chance;  and  they  call  that 
sport." 

"And  what  chance  has  a  village  woman  against 
a  big-fanged  Tiger?"  grunted  Boar.  "No  chance. 
It  seems  to  me  there  are  few  in  the  Jungle  as  decent 
as  Hathi  and  myself;  we  meddle  not  with  the 
Men." 

"Just  before  dark,"  continued  Sa'-zada,  "I  heard 
a  noise  coming  through  the  Khir  bushes.  'Bagh 
comes  early,'  I  thought  to  myself." 


228  THE  SA'-ZADA  TALES 

"He  must  have  been  hungry  to  scent  a  kill  be 
fore  dark,"  muttered  Raj  Bagh. 

"He  smelt  a  man  and  thought  it  a  good  chance 
to  commit  murder,"  sneered  Magh. 

"It  wasn't  Tiger  at  all,"  said  the  Keeper,  "but 
three  noisy  Black  Bears — Bhalu  the  Bear.  I 
thought  they  would  soon  pass,  for  they  do  not  med 
dle  much  with,  cattle." 

"No,  we  are  not  throat  cutters  like  Bagh," 
whuffed  Muskwa. 

"But  they  seemed  in  an  inquisitive  mood.  Now, 
the  calf  was  tied  to  the  foot  of  a  toddy  palm,  and 
they  looked  at  him  as  much  as  to  say,  'What  are 
you  doing  here  ?'  ' 

"I  would  have  explained  matters  to  them  had  I 
been  there,"  exclaimed  Arna,  shaking  his  head. 
"A  poor  Calf!" 

"No  doubt  they  meant  to  help  him  out  of  his 
trouble,"  volunteered  Muskwa. 

"Presently  one  of  them  proceeded  to  climb  the 
toddy  palm,  and  I  thought  they  were  looking  for 
me  perhaps.  On  the  tree  was  a  jar  the  natives  had 
put  there  for  catching  the  toddy  liquor;  and  you  can 
imagine  my  surprise,  Comrades,  when  I  saw  Bhalu 
take  a  big  drink  out  of  this.  When  he  came  down 
one  of  his  comrades  went  up.  There  were  half-a- 
dozen  toddy  trees  there,  and  the  Bears  helped 
themselves  to  the  toddy  until  in  the  end  they  be 
came  very  drunk." 

"I  know  how  that  feels,"  said  Oungea  the  Water 


SA'-ZADA,  THE  "ZOO"  KEEPER    229 

Monkey;  "have  I  not  told  you,  Comrades,  of  the 
gin  my  Master — 

"Caw-w-w,  caw-w-w!"  interrupted  Crow.  "I 
also  know  of  that  condition.  I  ate  some  cherries 
once  that  had  been  thrown  from  a  bungalow  in 
Calcutta,  and  they  made  my  head  wobble  so  I 
couldn't  fly.  A  Sahib  stood  in  the  door  and  laughed 
and  said  I  was  drunk." 

"The  cherries  had  been  in  brandy,  I  suppose," 
explained  Sa'-zada.  "But  Bhalu  was  most  unmis 
takably  drunk.  They  wanted  to  play  with  the  Calf, 
but  he  became  frightened  and  bawled.  I  could  see 
there  was  small  chance  of  a  visit  from  Bagh  with 
three  drunken  Bears  and  a  bellowing  Calf  at  the 
foot  of  my  tree." 

"This  is  a  nice  story,  Muskwa,"  sneered  Magh. 
"I'm  so  glad  to  hear  of  your  people  and  their 
ways." 

"Only  cousins  of  mine,"  declared  Muskwa,  "and 
called  Bhalu." 

"All  Bears  are  alike,"  snapped  Coyote;  "meddle 
some  thieves." 

"They  steal  little  Pigs,"  added  Boar. 

"They  wouldn't  go  away,"  said  Sa'-zada,  "and 
I  began  to  fear  that  I  shouldn't  get  a  shot  at 
Stripes.  I  did  not  want  to  shoot,  because  if  Tiger 
was  anywhere  in  the  neighborhood  it  would  put  an 
end  to  his  visit.  I  had  nothing  heavy  to  throw  at 
them  except  my  water-bottle;  but,  finally,  taking  a 
long  drink  to  keep  the  thirst  away  for  a  time,  I 


23o  THE  SA'-ZADA  TALES 

stood  up  in  the  machan  and  let  fly  the  bottle. 
It  caught  the  Bear  just  behind  the  ear,  and 
Bhalu,  thinking  one  of  his  comrades  had  hurt 
him,  pitched  into  the  other  two,  and  there 
was  a  fierce  three-cornered  fight  on  in  a  min 
ute." 

"I  can  swear  that  it  is  a  true  tale,"  barked  Gidar, 
"for  twice  I've  seen  a  family  of  Bhalu's  people  in 
just  such  a  stupid  fight.  Not  that  they  were  pos 
sessed  of  toddy,  for  they  are  silly  enough  at  all 
times.  But  it  is  known  in  the  Jungle  that  when 
Bhalu  is  wounded,  he  fights  with  the  first  one  he 
sees,  even  his  own  brother,  thinking  he  has  done 
him  the  harm." 

"One  chap  got  the  worst  of  the  encounter  and 
reeled  off  into  the  Jungle,  the  other  two  following. 
I  could  hear  them  wrangling  and  snarling  for  a 
long  distance — all  the  world  like  a  party  of 
drunken  sailors." 

"These  Bear  stories  are  just  lovely,"  grinned 
Magh.  "Aren't  they,  Muskwa  ?" 

"Did  you  kill  Bagh,  the  Man-eater?"  asked 
Muskwa,  to  change  the  subject. 

"Yes,  I  stopped  his  murderous  career  that 
night,"  answered  Sa'-zada.  "He  was  an  evil  ani 
mal  and  deserved  to  die.  Now  it  is  late  and  you 
must  all  go  to  your  cages." 

"I'm  glad  your  people  had  a  chance  to  be  heard 
from,  Muskwa,"  lisped  Magh  as  she  slid  down 
Hathi's  trunk.  "You  always  looked  so  terribly 


BHALU 


PITCHED   INTO   THE    OTHER   TWO. 


SA'-ZADA,  THE  "ZOO"  KEEPER    231 

respectable  and  honest,  that  I  was  really  afraid 
to  speak  to  you." 

"Phrut,  phrut!"  muttered  Hathi  through  his 
trunk;  "I  have  lived  for  a  matter  of  forty  years  or 
so,  amongst  the  Jungle  Dwellers  and  with  the  Men- 
kind,  and  I  think  that  we  are  all  alike,  all  having 
some  good  and  some  bad  qualities." 


THE  END 


A     000928157     7 


